Flavour of My Life
by stuffbylouie
Summary: This is simply a matter of a boy and a girl – a boy and a girl who have been sparring for WAY too long. A Chuckie and Angelica story. Contains midget moments of TL and PK.
1. Chapter One

**Flavour of My Life**

_Sequel and predecessor to 'Only Lil'. To quote Kimi: what in sanity's name happened between Chuckie and Angelica?_

* * *

"C'mon, Chuckie, level with me! What happened?" Tommy pushed his friend. Chuckie, the friend in question, was lying pitifully face down on Tommy's bed, and was definitely not in the mood for a 'deep and meaningful'.

"It's no use," Chuckie answered in a muffled, dead pan voice. "It's over. Finished. Gone. Caput! Hope you liked the first episode 'cause there ain't gonna be a sequel!"

At that moment, Dil knocked and entered Tommy's bedroom. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Chuckie's position.

"Er ... Chuck?" he said in a concerned voice. "Are you able breathe with your face plastered to the mattress like that?"

"I have no need to breathe anymore, Dil," Chuckie proclaimed miserably, remaining where he was. "Can't you see my life is over and I'll never love again for as long as I live?"

"Dude, that sentence contradicts itself," Dil observed.

"Chuckie, roll over!" said Tommy, becoming annoyed. When Chuckie didn't move, Tommy grabbed the back of his shirt and tried to force him.

"All right, all right!" Chuckie complained, rolling over on his own and sitting up at the head of the bed. Tommy, and now Dil, sat opposite. "Happy?"

"No," said Tommy bluntly. "You still haven't told me how you and Angelica got together."

Chuckie folded his arms and pouted. "It's a long story. And who cares what happened, she dumped me!"

"But you've only had one date," Dil pointed out. "And that was, like, the day before yesterday."

"Angelica doesn't like to waste any time, does she?"

"Chuckie, I think you're overreacting," Tommy noted.

"Of course I'm overreacting!" Chuckie exclaimed. "What do you expect, Tommy? I overreact about everything!" Chuckie began to count with his fingers. "Pollen, nuclear war, milk expiry dates, America's Most Wanted, my sister dating Phil ... especially when they're in your garden in the middle of the night while – "

"We get it," said Dil, cutting him short.

"What I meant was," Tommy went on, "_before_ you bit my head off, is that Angelica never actually said she didn't want to go out with you anymore."

"_She may as well have_!" Chuckie blasted again, becoming even more worked up. "After everything she said! She ... she promised me it'd be fine! That none of this would be a problem! How could she ... how ... "

Chuckie willed himself not to get upset. It had been a very stressful day.

"I'll go get us something to drink," said Dil, feeling it would be best to give the best friends some time alone on this one. Once he left, Tommy moved up the bed and sat next to Chuckie.

"It's not fair," Chuckie sniffed, wiping an escaped tear from his eye. "She had me believing I'm all special one minute, and then the next it's like I'm back being something stuck to the bottom of her over-priced shoe."

"There still might be hope," said Tommy, putting an arm around him. "What Angelica did today totally sucked, but I can tell you she's not proud of it. She's struggling ... "

"Good!" said Chuckie, sounding unconvincingly pleased. Tommy chuckled.

"So ... are you ever gonna spill on what happened between you guys in the first place? Or do I have to force you to drink expired milk ... "

Chuckie wiped his nose and managed to smile a little. "Be real, Tommy. Like you want to hang around and listen to me reminiscing! I know you'd rather be with Lil."

"Don't change the subject," said Tommy, nudging him. "And besides, I'm catching up with Lil later. I'm all yours, buddy! Spill it."

Chuckie sighed.

"Okay," he resigned. "Here I go ..."

* * *

"_I guess it started about three weeks ago when we were first paired up for a Biology project. That's when I realised I ... well, started to notice Angelica more then I use to. It was monumentally embarrassing, which is why I never said anything to you or anyone! Plus I was determined not to let Angelica find out, fearing she'd kill me or worse, laugh in my face … "_

Three weeks prior to Valentine's Day. That's three weeks before Kimi would collide with Phil in a bush, and three weeks before Tommy and Lil would discover the 'intimate' possibilities of Chinese food, a blackout, a fold-out tent and very smelly lip balm. It was also three weeks before Chuckie and Angelica would share their first date.

Yes, Chuckie and Angelica on a date. How you ask? Why? Have they lost the plot? Been brainwashed? Are aliens using intergalactic mind control techniques from the nether regions of the universe? Dil would like to think so, but that's really not the case ...

No. This is simply a matter of a boy and a girl – a boy and a girl who have been sparring for WAY too long.

"Ahhh, _Brad_!"

"Angelica," said Chuckie, at his wits end, "if you dribble 'ahhh, _Brad_!' ONE more time, I'll – "

"You'll what? Have a nosebleed? Go ahead! It'd make my day, Finster. Hey, let's even make that the theme of our assignment! I'll give you a nosebleed, document the results, and see how long it takes for you to wind up on a stretcher."

Chuckie glowered at her.

"I've got a better idea! Why don't _you_ just nag me for the next two weeks and I'll document how long it takes before I go crazy and chop all the heals of your shoes!"

"Oooh, nice comeback!" said Angelica, genuinely impressed. "Becoming quite the badass in your old age, aren't ya?"

The now sixteen year old Chuckie and seventeen year old Angelica were in the back of their Biology class. The teacher had just informed them they were to be paired on a project, which they would have to make up and complete in two weeks time. To Chuckie's annoyance, Angelica spent most of the class 'dribbling' over a boy called Brad, and how "rectumly challenged" it was of the teacher to pair her with Chuckie instead of him.

"His last name's even Pittman!" said Angelica excitedly, back on Brad's case. "It's so perfect! He even looks like Brad Pitt."

Chuckie glared at her idiotically. "Angelica, he's black!"

"We're going to have such attractive children … " Angelica went on dreamily, ignoring Chuckie.

"Look," said Chuckie, his patience wearing thin. "Angelica, I don't want to fail Biology so can we please think about the project instead of your flavour of the week? Please?"

"Pft! Fine!" said Angelica indifferently. "And Brad is _not_ a flavour of the week. For your information, I've had my eye on him for ten days now."

"Congratulations! That's like, twenty years in Angelica time."

"Shut up!"

"You shut up!"

"Bite me!"

**

* * *

Yay, I'm beginning another fic! And how romantic is it so far? You know the deal, read and review. Like it? Love it? "Rectumly challenged?" Don't be shy.**


	2. Chapter Two

_Chuckie and Angelica make 'plans', and Angelica makes some serperate 'plans' of her own._

* * *

Chuckie continues his story ... 

"_As you can imagine, being partnered with Angelica on a school project didn't warrant for much productivity. I could've ripped my hair out on a number of occasions during that first week! And hers. We met after school on Tuesday ... "_

"This is such a waste of an afternoon," Angelica complained as she and Chuckie entered her bedroom. "I should be at the mall buying that pink overcoat I saw on sale. It's a fantastic colour on me! Every single girl in school would be envious if I wore it – which _also_ means I'd have a better chance of attracting Brad!"

_Brad _... Chuckie thought, clenching his teeth at the sound of that name again. It was high time this recurring subject was changed.

"Any thoughts on what we're going to do for our Biology project?" Chuckie asked hopefully, knowing already that the question was doomed.

"Oh yeah, sure. I've got loads of thoughts!" Angelica sniped, tossing her bag onto the bed, flicking her shoes off and shutting herself in her walk-in-wardrobe. "I've been thinking about it as much as I think about you, Finster," she said from behind the closed door. "And trust me, that isn't a whole lot. If you catch my wave."

Chuckie crossed his arms and slumped on the end of Angelica's bed. "Do you just, compulsively try to make me feel bad about myself when we're together, Angelica?"

"Ah, so _there's_ the touchy Chuckie Finster we all know and love!" she chimed, sounding pleased. This was accompanied by the sound of coat hangers being re-arranged.

Something dawned on Chuckie.

"Angelica … what are you doing?"

He heard her snort.

"Getting changed, what did you think I'm – _ouch_! Stupid coat hanger!"

"Getting changed?" echoed Chuckie, curiously bewildered. "With me in here?"

The wardrobe door opened and Angelica stepped out in aqua track pants and a white singlet top. She'd grown into one of the prettiest seniors in school; and was far too aware of the fact. Yet, despite her looks, she retained that snobby 'I'm better then everyone else' demeanor. Chuckie, for his part, still had glasses, freckles, and a mass of red hair. Tall and lanky, he was quietly proud that he'd grown half-a-foot taller then Angelica. She often complained about it, telling him he should look into taking "growth retarding" pills.

"You gotta problem with me changing?" mocked Angelica.

"Erm … no," Chuckie replied cautiously. "It's just … I guess I thought _you_ would have a problem with it."

"Why? You weren't getting a visual, were you?"

"What? No!" said Chuckie, slightly pink. Angelica laughed.

"I'm kidding!" she said, sitting next to him. "Let me explain, Chuckie: you're like … " she thought how to put it " ... a girlfriend. I'm comfortable around you. Dig?"

Chuckie paused for a moment, looking as though he were solving a difficult mathematical equation in his head. "Angelica … that was one of the nicest things you've ever said to me. Even though you called me a girl … " Angelica laughed again.

"Yeah, well, I suppose you and me are pretty ironic."

He wondered what she meant by that, but Angelica talked over his thoughts.

"So! My old girlfriend. What have you decided to do for this Biology deal?"

Once again, Chuckie was back to being frustrated.

"Me? Angelica, this is a 'we' job!" he said, glaring at her.

"No need for toilet humour," she said, glaring back. "Like you seriously thought I'd be seriously into this! What use is it having a girlfriend with brains who doesn't think up all my stuff for me?"

Chuckie shook his head in dismay. "It's going to be a _very_ long week … "

* * *

"What's your poison, dudes? Audacious Apple, Mambo Mango or Orgasmic Orange?" Dil announced, re-entering Tommy's bedroom with three bottles of fruit juice. Tommy and Chuckie stared at him blankly. 

"Is that really what the drinks are called?" questioned Chuckie.

"Nah!" said Dil humoursly. "I was just in the mood for some alliteration. If you guys can't decide what to drink, allow me to do the honours! I think the Chuckster needs some 'audacious-ness'. Heads up for the apple, Chuck!" Dil tossed Chuckie the apple juice. "I'll be 'mambo man'. And my brother," he smirked at Tommy, "can be 'orgasmic' – with compliments to Lil." He threw Tommy the orange juice.

"Hilarious, Dil. Really!" said Tommy, trying not to sound too amused.

"Wait!" Chuckie interrupted. "Tommy, you and Lil haven't already … "

"_No_!" Tommy quickly intercepted. "No, we haven't. Dil's imagination is running away with him. Again!"

"And is not easy to see why, T?" Dil spoke back. "Especially when you two were hanging around the house all weekend, acting like you were in the running for a 'couples most likely to commit public displays of affection every nanosecond' contest! And see?" Dil pointed to Tommy's bedside table. "He keeps her Valentine's card by his bed. And to think! He didn't even consider it to be a proper holiday."

"That's enough, Dil!" Tommy warned him. "Can it or get out. Chuckie's in the middle of his story about Angelica."

"Wicked! Where are we up too?"

Tommy groaned, before saying, "Chuckie was paired with Angelica for Biology a month ago, wasn't happy about it, went back to her place on Tuesday and felt weird because she got changed while he was in the room."

Dil's eyes almost popped out of his head.

"Wo wo WO! Come again? Angelica got changed with Chuckie _in the room_?"

Chuckie's face flared up at the very thought.

"NO!" he retaliated. "Tommy, you forgot to mention the detail about her being in her _wardrobe_ at the time?"

"Didn't I say that?" said Tommy apologetically, with a slight smirk. "Sorry. My bad. Good thing I'm not telling the story."

_

* * *

__"Since Angelica's ideas ranged from 'how long it takes sliced cheese to grow mould' to 'the effects of birth-control pills on dogs', that Tuesday afternoon went no where fast. I spoke to my dad the next morning to see if he could come up with anything. One of his suggestions stood out in my mind, so I ran it by Angelica during lunch ... "_

"Let me get this straight," said Angelica, sitting with Chuckie in the lunchroom. "You want me, to accommodate precious time out of MY weekend, to go with you to the lake to observe a bunch of ducks in heat?"

"Something like that," said Chuckie, though he wouldn't have used those words.

"Chuckie, that's the lousiest idea I've ever heard!" Angelica scoffed.

"Well, at least I'm not suggesting we feed them all birth-control pills!"

"Birth-control pills for _dogs_, Chuckie. Not ducks!"

"Am I interrupting something?"

It was Susie, carrying her lunch tray. She sat herself down across from the happy couple.

"Oh no, nothing at all!" said Angelica, folding her arms. "We're just having a little scientific deliberation involving Chuckie's newfound love for animals getting-it-on."

"Angelica, we don't _have _to focus on the ducks breeding habits!" Chuckie enforced. "We can concentrate on how they nest, if you prefer."

"I thought you were afraid of ducks, Chuckie?" Susie interrupted, more or less figuring out they were discussing a school project.

"Er ... a little," said Chuckie, slightly embarrassed - especially when Angelica started giggling. "But I told our teacher the idea earlier this morning and she'd thought it'd be great! And I'd really love an A in Biology ... "

"Personally, I don't a give a duck about my Biology grade," Angelica jibed, retrieving a nail file from her bag. "I only took Biology to fill up some space."

"What about _my_ grade?" said Chuckie, almost pleadingly. "This is my future you're narking on!"

"Geez Chuckie, chill!" said Angelica, throwing him a reproachful look. "You're going to get an A in Biology ... "

"I am?"

"He is?" said Susie, looking from one to the other, seemingly intrigued by their interaction. Angelica sighed gruffly and stopped filing her nails.

"Yes, he is. So, Chuckie, what day are we heading down to the lake?"

Chuckie stared at her briefly, confounded.

"Why do you do that, Angelica?"

"Do what?"

"What you just did!"

"That being ... ?"

"Make me think you're going to screw everything up, when you never actually intend to?"

"Who said anything about screwing? I swear Chuckie, you've got ducks on the brain."

"I'll take that as my cue to go find Tommy and the others," said Chuckie irritably, standing up.

"Hold it!" Angelica protested. "You didn't tell me what day we were meeting?"

"Saturday," Chuckie outlined, picking up his bag. "My dad'll drive us."

"Fine."

"Fine!"

"Can't wait!"

"Counting down the days!"

As Chuckie departed, Angelica noticed Susie smiling at her. Looking smug.

"What are you smiling about?"

Susie shrugged, staying cool and taking a bite from her sandwich. "Nothin'. I just find you and Chuckie entertaining lately."

"What do you mean 'lately'?" inquired Angelica, a tad suspicious.

"Because," Susie elaborated, "lately the petty bickering has gone from sporadic wisecracks to being totally off the charts! Are you guys auditioning for a sitcom?"

"So Chuckie's grown more annoying since he hit puberty!" Angelica assessed. "And we're bickering so much because we're stuck doing this stupid project together."

"Nuh uh. You guys have been like this for a while."

"Chuckie's been in puberty for a while!"

"And what's with all the quips you were coming out with just now?" Susie continued questioning. "Birth-control pills ... mating ... screwing. Do I dare ask what's on your mind?"

"I'll tell you what's on my mind," Angelica growled. For some reason this conversation was starting to make her angry. "What the hell you're talking about, a gorgeous pink coat I spied at the mall, and Brad Pittman!"

Susie's smile suddenly faded to a disappointed glare. "Brad Pittman? Angelica please don't tell me you have a crush on Brad Pittman!"

"Why? Jealous?"

"Hardly!" said Susie, disgusted. "Angelica, Brad Pittman is one of the biggest sleazes in the school! You only like him because he's good looking and rich."

"Say what?" said Angelica, her face lighting up. "Brad's rich?"

"Duh. His family owns a second house half-an-hour out of town. I caught a rumour he's throwing a huge party there not this weekend but the next ... "

"Say WHAT!" said Angelica, positively glowing. "Oh I am _so_ there! We can get together at the party, just in time for Valentine's Day!"

"Hello? Did I mention _huge _sleaze?"

"Oh, details details!" said Angelica with a wave of her hand. She stood from her seat, still glowing. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to find Savannah. No doubt she'll have all the goss! Catch ya later, Susie."

"Angelica walked off with a skip in her step, leaving Susie alone with her thoughts.

_It's like talking to a wall!_

**

* * *

I realise Chuckie couldn't narrate that last conversation between Angelica and Susie because he wasn't there. However, technically, Chuckie and myself are telling the story, so I can add bits he don't know about! I'd also like to verify that Brad Pittman is not based on Brad Pitt, despite the fact they're both good looking and rich. I saw 'Mr and Mrs Smith' around the time I started this story, so I had his name on the brain. Plus, Brad Pittman and Angelica? Angie? Okay, way off topic :) Thanks for the reviews! More on the way (p.s. 'Only Lil' is finished for those wondering).**


	3. Chapter Three

_To argue, or not to argue?_

___

* * *

____"Where was I ... oh yeah! Thursday. I hardly saw Angelica at all, but I did have my first run in with ... "_

"Watch where the f--k you're going!"

It was lunch time again. Chuckie was carrying his lunch tray when Brad Pittman, of all people, purposely bumped into him. Chuckie's sandwich, as a result of the incident, had fallen to the floor.

_Perfect_ Chuckie thought to himself, bending down. Somebody else bent down with him.

"What a grade-A jerk," said Kimi, Chuckie's sister. She helped him pick up the last bits of his sandwich, which was no longer edible. "Don't worry, Chuck. You can have half of my sandwich. I don't want to eat it all."

Once everything was in order, Chuckie and Kimi headed to where Phil and Lil sat.

"Will I forever have the title: 'King of Planet Push-Over' branded across my forehead?" Chuckie asked Kimi solemnly as they walked, looking downcast.

"Chuckie, there's nothing branded on your forehead except freckles," she noted. "And don't waste head space worrying over idiot jocks like that Brad guy. You're better than that."

_That's right, Chuckie. You're better _said a little voice in Chuckie's head. _How can Angelica be serious about that guy? She's nuts!_

"Earth to Chuckie. Come in Chuckie!" droned Phil's voice, sounding far away.

"Huh?"

Chuckie, blinded by his thoughts, didn't realise he was now at Phil and Lil's table.

"Are you gonna to sit down," Phil went on, "or continue to do a rabbit caught in headlights impression?"

"I'm going to sit down," said Chuckie grumpily, still bruised over what had happened. He and Kimi sat down together. Kimi promptly cut her sandwich in half and gave Chuckie his share.

"Are you all right, Chuckie?" asked Lil, picking up on his mood. Chuckie shrugged limply. Losing his sandwich, or the fact Brad had embarrassed him and treated him rudely, wasn't the only thing bothering him ...

"I dunno. Weird day," was the best answer he had to offer.

Phil's attention diverted elsewhere.

"Kimi, what ya reading?"

Kimi, sitting across from Phil, was absorbed in a magazine she'd pulled out from her bag.

"My horoscope," she replied coolly. Phil lent forward on his arms, trying to steal her attention.

"Yeah? What does it say about me?"

"_And_ me," said Lil, who had as much right to this information as Phil did.

"Hmmm ... let's see, Libra," said Kimi, scanning to the next page. "This month's report says Libran girls are legends, and Libran boys are knob-heads." She winked at Lil, who giggled. Phil was less impressed.

"That wasn't very nice!" he said, and playfully threw a bit of his lunch at her, which crashed into her chest. Unfortunately, this bit of lunch had tomato sauce on it; and, even more unfortunately, Kimi's shirt was white.

"_Phil_!" Kimi cried, outraged.

"Crap!" Phil cried, apologetic. "Kimi, I'm sorry!"

Kimi stood up, grabbed a napkin and tried to wipe herself off, but to no avail. White shirts and tomato sauce are never a good mix. "Now my shirt's all stained. Thanks, Phil!"

"Kimi, wait up!"

Kimi stormed off to the girl's bathroom with Phil following close behind. Chuckie and Lil could hear them argue all the way across the lunchroom.

"It was an accident!"

"Poor excuse, Phil!"

"I wasn't aware of the tomato sauce, I swear!"

"I can't believe you'd throw food at me!"

"You called me a knob-head!"

"You _are_ a knob-head!"

Chuckie turned to Lil, who breathed an extended sigh.

"What's wrong with those two?" Chuckie asked, sounding lost. "All they try to do lately is get a rise out of each other. They never used to be like that ... "

"Tell me about it," said Lil. "They're sparring like an old married couple. It's funny how people can be when they find out they like ea - "

Lil deliberately cut herself short. For you see, as she will disclose to Tommy a month from now, Kimi and Phil secretly have crush on each other, and Lil is the only person that knows about it. Both made her promise not to tell, and Lil at this point intends to keep their secret, despite how hard that can be at times. Like now, for example.

"Erm," Lil mumbled, thinking how Kimi would kill her slowly and painfully if Chuckie found out about Phil. "I mean ... who knows what's wrong them! Epidemic PMS, probably."

Chuckie raised an eyebrow at her.

"PMS? Even Phil?"

"Sure!" said Lil, taking a gulp from her strawberry milk. "Guys can get PMS. I read about it ... "

Chuckie had a distinct feeling Lil was hiding something from him. Little did he know, Phil and Kimi's mutual crush wasn't her _only_ secret. Lil herself had a secret crush on -

"Hey guys!"

Tommy came up behind Lil so suddenly that Lil, more then slightly edgy at this point, spilled strawberry milk all down her front.

"Oh no!" said Lil, surveying the mess.

"Crap! I'm sorry, Lil," said Tommy sincerely, sitting beside her. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"No, Tommy, that's okay. It wasn't your fault ... "

"Here," he gave her his hanky. "I promise there aren't any bogies in it."

"Thanks," said Lil, feeling herself blush; mainly because her shirt was now see-through. "I ah, better go to the bathroom and get cleaned up. Excuse me."

Lil left the table in a hurry, arms strategically folded over her chest as she went. Tommy watched her leave, before looking at Chuckie and saying, "She seems pretty upset. Do you think I really upset her?"

"Not as much as Phil upset Kimi just now," said Chuckie, whose mind was drifting backwards and forwards to his growing problem with Brad Pittman. It was only the beginning of what was to come.

* * *

"You see? You liked her even then!" Chuckie said to Tommy, both still sitting on Tommy's bed with Dil. 

"Chuckie, don't steer off topic!" said Tommy forcefully. "This story is about you and Angelica, not me and Lil."

"Yes, I've had enough Tommy and Lil to last me for a decade," Dil commented flatly, sipping juice.

"Tommy, I'm just stating what is now overtly obvious," said Chuckie airily. "You wouldn't stop going on about upsetting Lil. 'Is Lil upset with me?' 'Should I go talk to her?' 'Should I say sorry again?' And so on."

"Yes, I see that now. It's all very clear! But going back to _you_, Chuckie," Tommy emphasised, "you still haven't verified the point when you knew you liked our cousin."

"I'm getting to that!"

"It happens at the lake, doesn't it?" Dil talked over them both, referring specifically to Chuckie. "Something went down with you and Angelica at the lake!"

Chuckie went silent, which was answer enough. Both Tommy and Dil smiled conspiringly.

"What happened at the lake, Chuckie?" Tommy questioned.

"That's Saturday! I'm only up to Thursday so far," Chuckie complained, feeling pressured.

"Well, did anything significant occur between Thursday and Saturday?" Tommy pressed.

"Not really ... "

"Then come on! Tell us about the lake."

"All right already!" said Chuckie, giving in. "You guys are really difficult to tell a story to, you know that?"

_

* * *

"Saturday morning. I told Angelica to meet me at my house at nine thirty, so naturally she came at five past ten." _

"I usually wake up at ten on a Saturday morning!" was Angelica's key defence. "And I'm not even fully operational 'till at least eleven. You're lucky I didn't swing by at lunch time."

Now that everyone was finally ready to go, Chuckie, Angelica, and Chuckie's dad loaded the car and set off. Chuckie and Angelica sat together in the back seat.

"Kira and I fixed a picnic for you both," said Chazz, briefly looking over his shoulder at them as he drove. "Everything's nutritionally balanced. Healthy food for hard workers like yourselves doesn't go astray!"

Angelica spotted the picnic basket at her feet. She lifted the lid and searched through to see what was inside. "Ooooh, club sandwiches! Thanks, Mr Finster."

"You're welcome, Angelica."

Chuckie in the mean time, had been observing Angelica off and on through the corner of his eye since they got in the car. Something was, well ... different. Her clothes were different, for one. He was so used to seeing her 'styled up' all the time; looking manicured in whatever the latest fashion was, with a handbag clutched in one hand and a cell phone in the other. But now she was dressed in a modest pair of cargo pants and a red hooded jumper, and with minimal make-up on her face - shock horror. Chuckie couldn't recall the last time he'd seen her like this. Actually, had he _ever_ seen her like this? It was ... refreshing. Like discovering the 'Wizard of Oz' was actually a man behind a curtain, instead of some big scary head thing.

But there was something else different.

Was it because he and Angelica were about to be alone together? Without anybody else around? No school, no family, no Tommy and the gang, no Savannah or any other member of Angelica's high and mighty 'Brat Pack'? _I can't believe I used to like Savannah. What was I on? Okay, getting sidetracked ..._

Then Chuckie realised what the problem was: Angelica was being_ nice_. They'd been driving for ten minutes and she hadn't tried to make fun of him! Yet ...

"What?"

Angelica caught Chuckie looking at her. When she did, Chuckie quickly averted his eyes to the window, suddenly becoming deeply interested in the passing scenery.

"Chuckie!"

"I'm sorry, what?" said Chuckie, pretending to be torn away from whatever he was seeing outside.

"You were looking at me weirdly just now," she said, now looking at _him_ weirdly.

"Er ... was I?"

"Yuh huh! You know you were!"

Realising it was near impossible to hide from Angelica on this one, Chuckie said, "Ah ... well, I was kinda noticing how you don't look how you usually look today."

"Yeah ... so what?" she said suspiciously, finding this comment unexpected. "Is it really horrible or something?"

"No! No, I didn't mean it like that," Chuckie quickly affirmed. "I guess ... I'm just not used to it."

"Oh," said Angelica, pausing for a while. Feeling unsatisfied, she continued to probe, "There's something else though, isn't there?"

"Wh ... what do you mean?" said Chuckie, feeling nervy all of a sudden.

"Something else is bothering you about me. C'mon, Finster! I can see through you like white laundry."

_Man she's good. We've known each other too long ... _Chuckie thought.

"You're not starting an argument about anything," Chuckie revealed straight out. "Or trying to insult me."

Angelica laughed and dropped her mouth open in mock surprise. "My god, Chuckie! Is that all you think I do?"

This wasn't difficult to answer. "Yes!" Chuckie replied immediately. Again, Angelica's mouth dropped open.

"So this is how he sees me!" she said dramatically. "Are you saying you'd actually be more at ease if I _did_ start insulting you?"

Chuckie, smiling now, thought this over and said, "No, that's okay. We may as well let nature take its course."

"Good point," Angelica agreed resolutely, smiling along with him. At that moment, a fire engine zoomed past. Angelica couldn't resist. "Look, Chuckie, a fire engine! They must've detected your hair."

Chuckie threw his head back and chuckled in defeat. "You suck ... "

"Nature, Chuckie!"

* * *

**Sorry this chapter isn't longer! I was going to make it longer, but I'm still working on the lake stuff and I wanted to put something up now to keep the things going and I remind everyone I'm still here. I'm developing Chuckie and Angelica's relationship more gradually then I did with Tommy and Lil's, because I'm finding they're way more complicated! Patience is golden. Thanks a bunch if you're staying with the story (p.s. I realise now Chuckie liked Nicole, not Savannah, but I don't want to change the line so let's just say he did).**


	4. Chapter Four

_Nature takes it course._

* * *

_"Are we at the lake yet?"_

_"Dil, shut up! Chuckie's telling it."_

_"T, that's like the fiftieth time you've told me to shut – "_

_"GUYS!"_

Getting back on track, Chuckie and Angelica finally arrived at the lake –

_"Thank you!"_

_"DIL!"  
_  
AND the day was, conveniently, ideal for being outdoors: sunny, clear blue skies, warm temperature, a gentle breeze in the air ... what could possibly go wrong?

Chazz parked the car and everybody hopped out. Chuckie went straight to the boot and retrieved his backpack.

"Let's see ... " he said to himself, sifting through the pack's contents. "Notebook? Check. Biology textbook? Check. Pens? Check ... "

"Brain? An eternal search," Angelica added in the background, threading her arms through her own backpack.

"Got all you need, Chuckie?" Chazz asked his son. Chuckie nodded, zipping his bag up again.

"I hope so."

"I've got the most important thing. The food!" said Angelica, happily lugging the picnic basket. The mention of food reminded Chazz of an important point.

"Oh, Chuckie! Thought I'd remind you, your mother packed some of that new soy milk you like. You know, the kind that doesn't make you break out in a rash all down your – "

"_Dad_!" Chuckie hissed embarrassingly through his teeth, eyes flicking to Angelica. "Ixnay on the Angelic-ay ... ?"

If Angelica heard what Chazz said, she didn't let on.

Chazz said goodbye (and apologised to Chuckie for the 'rash' comment) shortly after, but not before making arrangements to pick them up at four in the afternoon. Once he'd driven off, Chuckie and Angelica headed to the water. Apart from a group of fisherman on the other side of the bay, they literally had the place to themselves. In that case, it appeared_ two _areas of scientific study were about to be put under the microscope: one, the breeding and/or nesting habits of ducks; and two, the nature and development (if any) of Chuckie and Angelica's relationship when exposed to a secluded environment. Breeding and nesting habits of the pair remain at large.

"It ain't the mall," droned Angelica, scoping the scene. They'd stopped on a plain of grass with the lake stretched out in front of them. "Where to, Finster?"

Chuckie squinted in the morning sunlight. "Where ever the ducks are, obviously."

"Great idea!" said Angelica, her trademark sarcasm stirring in her voice. "Except I don't_ see _any ducks. It's a duck-free zone out there! Are you sure your dad was right about this being mating season? Maybe its migrating season instead ... "

"Dad knows what he's talking about," said Chuckie confidently. "He reads up on stuff like this all the time."

With this said, Chuckie put down his backpack and fished for his binoculars. Angelica, realising they weren't going to move, let go of the picnic basket with a tired huff. Chuckie found the binoculars and put them to his glasses, searching in exaggerated strokes up and down the lake. The water was completely still. Not a damn duck in sight!

Angelica huffed again.

"Chuckie, if this takes any longer, I'll be tempted to eat all the food on my own!"

"There has to be a duck around here some where," said Chuckie determinedly, upholding the search.

"Maybe they're all off humping in a secret nook?" she suggested.

"_Ah ha_! Found one," Chuckie declared, his binoculars aimed to the far right of the lake. "C'mon, let's move!"

"Off to the secret nook we go," Angelica mumbled dryly, lifting the picnic basket back up and trooping after Chuckie.

They moved towards a border of pine trees, leading into a forest. Once they crossed over, Angelica grew increasingly irritable with the change of surroundings.

"Why have you lured me in here?" she complained to Chuckie, glaring at each passing tree as if it were mocking her. "Any more of this nature crunk and I'll have severe flashbacks to school camp!"

"Now _there's_ the cranky Angelica we all know and love," said Chuckie whimsically, smirking at her over his shoulder. She grimaced.

"Oh, like your memories of school camp are really fond! If you weren't cracking up over campfire stories, you'd usually be found hogging the first aid kit, or almost drowning – "

"AH!" Chuckie yelped suddenly, ducking.

"What? What is it?" said Angelica, on the alert. Chuckie wheeled round in a full circle and brushed his clothes in a panic. "I heard a bug! A big one ... sounded like a bee."

"Is that all? I thought a pine cone must've fallen on your head ... "

"I'm allergic to bees! And I _don't_ like pine cones!"

"Chuckie, you're fine!"

Chuckie was still hastily checking his clothes for signs of an unwanted insect landing.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! Oh that's it, I can't take it any more!" Angelica, unable to carry the picnic basket for another second, dropped it. "Time out!"

Realising Angelica was struggling with the picnic basket, Chuckie forgot about the supposed bee attack and walked over to help her.

"I'll take the basket for a while," he offered, bending down.

"It's heavy," Angelica warned. "If I had trouble, you'd be likely to tip over."

"I'm stronger than you now!" Chuckie asserted, then lifted the basket up with a distinct wobble. Angelica snickered.

"Forget it, Finster! The only muscle mass you've got going on is in your hair."

"It's not that heavy ... " Chuckie lied. "C'mon, let's keep – "

"OH NO!"

"Now what?"

Practically mimicking what Chuckie had done, Angelica was wheeling around on the spot, searching the ground.

"Angelica, what – "

"My bracelet!" she cried fretfully, tracing her steps. "My bracelet fell off. My mom will gut me if I lost – _oh thank god_!"

She found it, a little way up the path. Clipping it on her wrist, Angelica walked back to Chuckie and heaved a great sigh of relief. Chuckie observed the sparkling gold chain with a solid, golden heart locket dangling from it.

"Family heirloom," Angelica explained, noticing him checking it out. "Been in the family for generations, yadda yadda yadda. I can't even begin to tell you the trouble I'd get into if I lost this! Plus I've grown kinda attached to it over the years ... "

"Maybe you should put it in your pocket?" Chuckie suggested. "So you don't lose it again."

"Good idea!" said Angelica, flinging her backpack to the ground and opening the front zipper. "I'll stick it in here for safe keeping."

Chuckie and Angelica marched on. Both were eager to come to a clearing (Chuckie was secretly struggling with the picnic basket), and it wasn't long before their hopes were fulfilled: they made contact with the lake again, reaching a peaceful cove of rocks trailing to the waters edge. And, much to Chuckie's scientific delight, there were ducks at this cove. At least six.

"Eureka!" Chuckie said under his breath. He was careful not to speak too loud. A pair of ducks were only two metres ahead of them, quacking and waggling their feathery tails. Chuckie crouched down behind a tree and signalled for Angelica to join him. "We'll set up here," he whispered.

"Huh?" said Angelica, too loudly. Chuckie was quick to hush her.

"Angelica, don't talk so loud! You'll scare them away ... "

"More like they'll come over here and scare _you_ away," said Angelica lowly, resting down on her knees. "What do we do now?"

"We wait," said Chuckie, flicking open his notebook and grasping his pen, primed for the wonder of science to occur at any moment. Angelica on the other hand, stared at the two ducks with a vacant, bored expression.

"Chuckie, they're not doing anything."

"That's why we _wait_. Did Jane Goodall lose patience when she was observing the chimpanzees in Africa? Or Diane Fossey with the gorillas?"

"Chuckie, if you wanted to observe gorillas, we could've stayed at school and watched the football try-outs!"

Thirty minutes later, Chuckie's enthusiasm was wearing thin. He'd even let go of his pen.

"I can't believe I've been sitting here for over half an hour, waiting for two ducks to do it," Angelica complained dismally, weighing her chin on her hand. "Animals never take this long on the Discovery Channel."

"It's called editing," remarked Chuckie, feeling increasingly frustrated.

Ten minutes later ...

Chuckie stood up.

"Where are you going?" Angelica questioned him, and added sarcastically, "Things were getting good. The ducks actually made eye contact!"

"Erm ... nature calls," said Chuckie shyly, edging away from her. Angelica smiled upon realising what he meant.

"Oooh! Okay fine, but make sure you do it well away from me! I don't want to hear you peeing. I know we've known each other for ages, but – "

"_Angelica_!"

"What?" she said innocently, shrugging. "What are you embarrassed for? It's not like you're the only person on the planet that pees."

_Another_ ten minutes later ...

"_Superb _club sandwich," Angelica commended heartily, after swallowing her first mouthful of food. Since the ducks continued to do nothing worth documenting, Chuckie and Angelica decided lunch was definitely in order, and raided the picnic basket with gusto.

"Don't throw them any bread," Chuckie told her, gulping soy milk. "We don't want to cause an unnecessary distraction." Angelica chuckled.

"Distract them from what? Standing?"

Chuckie sighed, thoroughly annoyed. "I don't get it! It's meant to be mating season. What's with the hold up?"

"Maybe they mated before we got here," Angelica pointed out. "Or maybe they don't like us watching. Or _maybe_ they're not even a boy and girl. And even if they are, maybe the girl thinks the guy's a complete loser. Or – "

"Great," said Chuckie drearily, cutting her off. "We'll just tell our Biology teacher we couldn't finish the paper because one duck thought the other duck was a loser!"

"Are you going to write that down or should I?" asked Angelica, granting herself a dirty look from Chuckie.

Some time later, after they finished lunch ...

"Do it ... _do it_! You know you want to."

Running out of patience, Chuckie had resorted to forcing the ducks into action via mind control – something Angelica found very amusing.

"Yes, hump damn you! Hump!" she said, joining in.

They both turned to each other and burst into laughter, reveling in their own silliness.

"It's official," Angelica went on, "we're both going nuts! We should definitely think about changing the topic of this assignment to 'what happens to Angelica and Chuckie when they stare at ducks for nearly two hours'."

"Two hours!" Chuckie exclaimed. He'd lost track of time. "Are you serious?"

"Afraid so."

"Oh!" Chuckie moaned, reverting back to annoyance. "This is hopeless! I knew I wouldn't be getting an A in Biology ... "

"Get a grip, Finster," Angelica chided him. "The day's not over yet. No way have you dragged me out here on a Saturday just to give in!"

"You're right. We should go find some new ducks."

"_Or_, perhaps we should do something a little more ... proactive."

"Like what?" Chuckie asked skeptically. She wasn't going to bring up the birth-control experiment again, was she?

"Think, Chuckie! How do regular humans 'get in the mood'?"

Chuckie stared at her blankly.

"What are you talking about, Angelica?"

"You're forcing me to be blunt," she said, with a tone of warning. "Cliché 'getting in the mood' enhancers, Chuckie. Common ways in which men and women get the other to think about sex!"

"Wha ... _what_?" Chuckie gasped, acting as though he'd heard another bee. They'd be been tossing around terms for it all day: mating, doing it, humping ... but hearing the actual word 'sex' was apparently too much for Chuckie – especially coming from Angelica.

"Oh, settle down! All I said was 'sex'. Sex sex sex sex – "

"ANGELICA!"

"_Sshh_! You'll distract the ducks. So," she went on, "can you think of any?"

"Mood enhancers?" Chuckie replied, reluctantly playing along. "Not that I see how this will _seriously _help us ... there's candlelight ... "

"Yuh huh."

" ... wine ... "

"Yuh huh."

" ... symmetrical decor ... "

"Er ... okay, yuh huh."

" ... music ... "

"_Yes_! Exactly, Chuckie! We need cheesy music ... "

And with that, Angelica unzipped her backpack and pulled out a portable radio. Chuckie stared at her with grave disbelief, thinking she may as well have brought up the birth-control thing again.

" Angelica, don't tell me you think ... "

"Hang on, hang on!"

Angelica searched for the right station.

"Perfect! Jane Fossey would've never had thought of this ... "

"That's _Diane_ Fossey."

Angelica had stopped on the sappiest love song she could find. Something by Barry Manilow, or Michael Bolton … or something along those lines. Chuckie shook his head in shame.

"We've hit a new low … "

"Got any better ideas, Finster?"

"If I have to listen to any more of this, I think I'll vomit!"

"How's that supposed to help?"

"No, I mean – "

Chuckie was about to say something else, but trailed off. Was it possible? Were the ducks reacting to the music? They were moving towards each other ... they were …

"_Unbelievable_," murmured Chuckie, stunned. Angelica shot her arms into the air, victorious.

"What were you saying about that A in Biology?"

A while later, Chuckie and Angelica had compiled enough notes to make a good start on their assignment. They decided to leave.

"I can't believe that music worked!" Chuckie was saying in awe, as he packed up his things. "Not only did the two ducks in front of us mate, but those other ducks further down the water mated as well!"

"Feel free to call me the 'Queen of Biology' from now on," said Angelica proudly, hoisting her backpack. Chuckie laughed.

"I'll be sure to say it next time you're around Savannah."

The smile disappeared from Angelica's face.

"What?" said Chuckie, sounding discouraged. "Can't let the leader of the 'Brat Pack' know you're actually smart?"

"She's _not_ the leader! And –" Angelica's smile returned. "You think I'm smart?"

"Smart? Angelica, you were brilliant today!" Chuckie cried, unable to hold back. "I don't know what I would've done without you. I'll call you the Yoda of Biology if you want."

Angelica beamed. "Okay, okay! Cool the excitement. Remember your tendency to get nosebleeds."

As they walked back through the forest, Angelica sang annoyingly along the way: "Chuckie thinks I'm brilliant! Chuckie thinks I'm brilliant! He thinks I'm Yoda, he thinks I'm – "

"Me and my big mouth," Chuckie grumbled. "I'll never live this down, will I?"

"Nope!"

"Great. Remind me not to compliment you on anything ever again."

"Harsh, Finster!" said Angelica, smirking. "So how long 'till your dad picks us up?"

"About and hour or so," Chuckie replied, consulting his watch.

"I gotta admit, Chuckie," said Angelica after a pause. "As crazy as this sounds, I had fun today."

Taken aback by this 'confession' of Angelica's, Chuckie spun his head towards her, making sure she was for real. She was smiling at him, without a hint of insincerity. It was one of those rare occasions when Chuckie got to see Angelica with her guard down. His stomach felt all fuzzy.

"I had fun too, Angelica."

She just smiled some more, and then couldn't resist saying, "Did we just have a moment?"

"Seems like it," said Chuckie, enjoying it very much.

So this is what it could be like with Angelica, he mused – minus school, family, Tommy and the gang, Savannah, etc. They'd spent the whole Saturday together, at a lake, working on a school assignment, _with_ ducks and a bad love song, and had managed to have fun. The fuzziness in his stomach wouldn't go away.

It was happening ...

"CRAP ON A CRACKER!" Angelica suddenly yelled, interrupting Chuckie's reverie. She was manically searching through the front of her backpack.

"What's wrong?"

"IT'S GONE AGAIN!" she wailed. "My bracelet! It must have fallen out when I got out my radio before!"

"Are you sure?"

"YES!"

"Angelica, relax!" Chuckie tried reassuring her. "We'll just retrace our steps back to where we were. We'll find it, come on!"

And so they did, with Angelica repeating "I'm dead I'm dead I'm dead" over and over again as they went. They eventually returned to the scene of the crime.

"I don't see it! Do you see it?" Angelica asked in a panic, scanning the ground. Chuckie was doing the same.

"It can't have gone far," he said, scratching his head. "Unless it fell out near the trees some where."

"This is not happening!" Angelica continued to panic, pointlessly searching under rocks. "When my mom finds out I'll be grounded for eternity! I'll ... HEY!"

She spotted it – about ten metres away in the lake, glinting in the afternoon sun. A floating duck had it wedged in its beak.

"HEY YOU, DUCK!" Angelica bellowed angrily, scampering up a rock. "GET YOUR FEATHERED BUTT BACK HERE!"

Chuckie climbed to join her. The rock they were standing on was elevated over the lake, so that they looked down to where the guilty duck was floating. "Angelica, I don't think yelling at it is going to help."

"Oh, he's swimming away!" she said helplessly, bouncing on her heels. "THIEF! DON'T YOU TURN YOUR BACK ON ME!"

Chuckie didn't know why he did it. It wasn't as if he thought it through. It was just ... an impulse. Originating from his stomach region.

"CHUCKIE!"

He dive bombed into the water, sending shock waves through Angelica, and the duck; who he'd almost landed on.

"_Phwar_!" Chuckie breathed, his head emerging from the water. "Which way did it go?"

"Chuckie!" Angelica called from above, still in severe shock. "Are you out of your freakin' _mind_? You didn't have to do that!"

"Which way did it go, Angelica?" Chuckie reaffirmed, not wishing to explain his actions at this point. Not that he could if he wanted to, anyway.

"Over there," Angelica pointed. "To your right!"

The duck was paddling away from him, quacking. Chuckie swam after it, full speed ahead. The duck, affronted by this strange red-headed intruder, paddled faster. Come over with a determination he didn't know he possessed, Chuckie leaped forward in the water and grabbed it.

"YES!" Angelica cheered. "Bullseye, Chuckie!"

"AGH!" Chuckie gurgled. The duck was quacking and flapping its wings in his face. He reached around to grab the bracelet. Only problem was, the duck didn't have it any more. Chuckie let go.

"He must've dropped it when I grabbed him!" Chuckie called up to Angelica, to which Angelica swore.

"Just get out of there," she yelled back, defeated. "Don't worry. My mom will understand ... "

But Chuckie wasn't ready to quit. He took a deep breath, held his nose, and dived under the water.

"CHUCKIE!" Angelica called again, hardly believing what was happening now. Chuckie was searching the bottom of the lake for her bracelet! _Chuckie_. A boy, who only hours ago, lost it over an imaginary bee!

"He's gone insane!" Angelica commented to herself, watching the surface of the water like a hawk. "He's ... "

Angelica could hear her heartbeat thumping in her ears. Chuckie was _still_ underwater ... he'd been underwater for over a minute now. What was taking so long?

"CHUCKIE!" Her voice was shrill. "CHUCKIE, YOU IDIOT!"

Nothing. Angelica ran her hands through her hair, breathing heavily.

"_CHUCKIE_!"

Overcome with concern, Angelica had no choice but to jump in after him.

"Yuck!" she spluttered, spitting out a mouthful of water. Without a second to lose, she swam to the spot where Chuckie had disappeared and dived under.

Half a minute later ...

"_Guuuuuuh_!"

Angelica resurfaced, gulping for air; her arm was wrapped tightly around a limp and unconscious Chuckie. With only one arm at her disposal, she stroked and kicked hard for the shore. Upon reaching shallow waters she stood up, hooked her arms under Chuckie's armpits and dragged him out of the water to safety.

"_C'mon_!" she grunted, struggling. "There!"

She let him flop to the ground, her arms aching; mainly her right arm, which she'd used to swim with. Kneeling down, Angelica bent over Chuckie and pinched his nose between her thumb and forefinger.

"Remember your water safety class ... " she instructed herself, preparing for mouth-to-mouth. "Oh, screw that! Just remember Baywatch."

Quickly peeling Chuckie's wet hair from his face, Angelica propped open his mouth, took the plunge and breathed. Nothing.

"Dammit, Finster!" she cursed, pressing her hands to his chest. "1 ... 2 ... 3 ... wake up!"

She bent over him and breathed again. Nothing.

"WAKE UP, CHUCKIE!" she shouted, eyes welling with tears. "1 ... 2 ... if you die, I swear I'll kill you! DO YOU HEAR ME?"

He coughed. A low, guttural cough at first, then a more explosive one; accompanied by a sudden spit up of water. Chuckie bolted upright and coughed some more, letting it all out.

"What happened?" he wheezed, nauseous. "How long was I out?"

Before he had a chance to fully collect himself, Angelica flung her arms around him.

"Er ... Angelica?" Chuckie said quietly, who'd never had Angelica's arms around him before, and was unsure how to proceed. "Are you ... crying?"

In answer to his question, Angelica ceased hugging Chuckie and resorted to slapping him – something Chuckie was far more used too.

"Ow ow OW! Angelica – "

"Don't you ever ... " slap! " ...EVER ... " slap! " ... EVER do that to me again! That was the most horrible experience of my entire life! I seriously thought you'd drowned! I thought I'd have to call an ambulance! YOU STUPID MORON!"

Caving, Angelica sobbed and hugged Chuckie once more. Chuckie felt like he'd been run over a number of times. Angelica was switching emotions like hats.

"Here," he said, handing Angelica something from the pocket of his trousers. It was her gold bracelet. Angelica took it, and found it within herself to laugh.

"After all that!" she sniffed, and looked up at him. "It's only bracelet. It wasn't worth it."

"I don't know what came over me," said Chuckie, staring into space and thinking back to himself diving off that rock – _so_ unlike him. "I saw it on the bottom the lake ... I should've gone back for more air, but I didn't! I kept swimming. It was like having an outer-body experience ... "

"Did you feel you had to prove something to me?" Angelica asked, trying to evaluate Chuckie's motivation. "Because I'm always calling you a wimp or a weakling? I don't ever mean it, Chuckie. It's just ... old habits die hard, you know?" Chuckie shrugged.

"Maybe ... I don't know."

He stopped staring into space and turned back towards her. The state of Angelica's appearance suddenly hit Chuckie with full force. She was soaking, her jumper and cargo pants were smudged with dirt, her face was blotchy and red, and her blue eyes glistened with fresh tears. Talk about letting your guard down. His fuzzy stomach feeling returned for a second act.

"You're really upset ... " He sounded apologetic. Angelica slapped him again.

"Of course I'm really upset, dufus! This may come as a shock Finster, but I don't want you to die."

"Oh," said Chuckie stupidly, grinning now. "That's almost as nice as when you told me I was your girlfriend."

* * *

Four O'clock. Chazz parked the car. He stepped out, whistling as he walked, then – 

"Chuckie! Angelica! What _happened_ to you guys?"

Chuckie and Angelica were waiting for him on the side of the road, their legs stretched out on the gravel. Both were wet, muddy and exhausted.

"Hi dad," said Chuckie calmly, as if everything were normal. "Any chance you have a towel in the car?"

**

* * *

Ducks making out to Barry Manilow ... how do I end up with these ideas? Lol. 'Till the next chapter, dudes. **


	5. Chapter Five

_Nice one minute …_

* * *

"Wo," said Tommy in a hushed, astounded voice. 

"Dude," levelled Dil, holding his Mambo Mango juice in a frozen hand. The three of them were all still sitting on Tommy's bed.

"I'm in shock!" Tommy added. He looked as though he'd been 'shocked', too. Dil faired no better.

"I think I need medical attention … "

"Guys, cut the melodrama!" Chuckie broke his silence, uncomfortable with their 'intense' reactions. "It's not that big a deal."

"Chuckie," started Tommy, intensity in tact, "Angelica saved your life! You almost died saving her jewellery!"

"And you dived on a duck!" added Dil, feeling this too was imperative.

"Okay, so it was kinda a big deal!" Chuckie pressed on, bringing his knees to his chest again, before finally acknowledging, "A huge deal."

There was a weighty silence between the boys.

"Was the duck unharmed?" Dil asked, lightening the mood.

"Yes. And so was I!" Chuckie noted sarcastically. Dil grinned.

"We can see that. So this means Angelica gave you mouth to mouth, right?"

Chuckie shifted awkwardly, before answering in a prudish tone, "That's irrelevant. I was unconscious."

"But if you _weren't_, then it would be like you guys – "

"DON'T go there!"

"What did you and Angelica talk about when you walked back from the lake?" Tommy asked hastily, deciding it was best to change the subject before all the blood rushed to Chuckie's head. "Before your dad picked you up?"

"Didn't talk much at all," Chuckie replied, calming down. "The whole day had been so strange. All I could think about was Angelica … and why the hell I did what I did. Of course, I _knew_ why. I just wasn't ready to admit it to myself. I fought off the conclusion as long as I could."

"What conclusion?" Dil pretended to wonder. "That you're a closet Barry Manilow fan?"

"Dil!" scolded Tommy, shoving him. Dil shoved him back.

"Chill, T! We all know you're one as well. Isn't it time you came out? Lil'd still go out with you … AGH!"

Tommy swiped him with a pillow.

"_Careful_! My drink," said Dil protectively. "Do you want Mambo Mango all over your bed?"

"You better keep going with the story, Chuckie," Tommy wisely suggested. "Before I brutally injure my brother."

"_So_ like a closet Barry Manilow fan," Dil cooed to himself, sipping juice again. "Intermittent bursts of aggressiveness … no self-control … "

Chuckie nodded to Tommy, before taking a gulp of his Audacious Apple juice. "Where was I?"

* * *

"_I saw Angelica the following day. She agreed to come over and help type up our Biology paper. She even came on time!" _

"I think we're finished," said Chuckie, studying the computer screen. He and Angelica were in his bedroom at his desk. Angelica had been reading out notes for him to type.

"Can't believe I've finished a Biology assignment a week early," said Angelica, astonished at the thought. "Momentous, don't you think?"

"Right up there with the moon landing," Chuckie concurred. "I'll print us out two copies."

While the printer went into action, Angelica asked Chuckie about the topic they had so far managed to steer clear of – that topic being Chuckie diving into a lake to save Angelica's bracelet, and then her rescuing him in return.

"Did you ever tell your dad what really happened yesterday?"

Chuckie turned from the computer screen, facing her. Angelica was dressed casually again: aqua track pants, yellow shirt, flip flops, no make-up. There aren't many people who get to see Angelica without make-up ...

"Er … no," Chuckie admitted. "I stuck with the story that we both went swimming."

On that note, Angelica cackled with laughter. "Your poor dad! The horror on his face when he picked us up. "

"I know!" said Chuckie, laughing along with her. "Dad's like: 'how did you guys get so wet?' And you're like: 'the water looked really nice, we'd thought we'd have a swim!'"

"Ha ha!" Angelica laughed. "His face totally dropped! And then he's like: 'in your _clothes_!'"

They both howled, finding this re-enactment of poor Mr Finster quite hilarious. Then, once the laughter died down, Angelica posed her next question.

"So you never told him the truth?"

The truth? What did she mean by that exactly? Was she questioning his motivation for jumping in the lake in the first place? He never did give her a straight answer on that one …

Had her eyes always been such a pretty blue?

"Chuckie!"

"No!" he quickly answered, and then turned away before she caught him flushing. "No, I didn't. If I did he'd freak out! You saw how worried he was when he found me in wet clothes. Imagine if he knew I almost drowned."

She didn't answer for a while, grinding Chuckie's nerves. Then she suddenly went 'pft!', causing Chuckie to jump.

"Point taken. Your dad would never let you out of the house again. Then who'd guard my jewellery from wild, thieving animals?"

Chuckie smiled, abashed.

"Um, Angelica?"

"Hmm?"

Chuckie took a moment to flex his courage muscles, then forged ahead.

"I was wondering … would you – "

"_Shoot_!"

Angelica's mobile suddenly rang to life, cutting Chuckie off before he had a chance to finish. Just his luck.

"Angelica speaking?" she answered in a sing-song voice, after flipping the lid. "Hey, Savannah!"

_Who else?_ Chuckie thought gloomily, feeling cheated. How dare he have to think of Savannah on a Sunday!

"You're on your way _now_? I told you to give me some time to get ready, you bi-otch! Fine … yep … see you in fifteen."

She hung up.

"Sorry, Chuck. Savannah's taking me to the mall this arvo. I gotta bolt home and get ready before she arrives. Look at me, I'm a disaster!

"Ah … "

Chuckie wanted say something along the lines of "no you're not", but Angelica was in too much of a hurry. As she stood to leave, Chuckie stood as well, making sure to hand her a copy of the assignment.

"You earned it."

"Thanks," she said, taking it from him. "I mean that, Chuckie. Thank you. I may actually achieve my first A in science!"

With this gratefully announced, she was about to turn on her heel and walk out, but then remembered …

"Weren't you about to ask me something?"

He was.

"Doesn't matter," Chuckie acted dismissively, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "See you at school, Angelica."

* * *

"_Lying in bed that night, I couldn't sleep … "_

Chuckie _had_ wanted to ask Angelica something before she went to the mall. He wanted to ask if she'd consider hanging out with him again. Though now, in retrospect, he was glad he missed the opportunity. It would've sounded like he was asking her out!

_As if!_ Chuckie thought frantically to himself – hence his insomnia. _I was only going to suggest we hang out as _friends_. Catch a bite to eat, go to a movie. Watch the Discovery Channel? Ask Angelica out, HA! Oh Chuckie, that's just … I can't even … she'd … GAH!_

Nearing a head explosion, Chuckie tossed his blankets and stormed out of bed. Strung out and aimless, he went to sit in the living room. Normally, being alone in the living room in the middle of the night would creep him out; though, under the circumstances, it wasn't really an issue.

Unfortunately, the living room proved no different to lying in bed. In a desperate attempt to qualm his hypoactive mind, Chuckie kneeled down on the floor against the couch, turned, bent over and lifted his legs up into a not-so-graceful head-stand. A minute later, Kimi emerged from her bedroom. Dressed in a robe and yawning, she walked out into the living room only to be greeted by the unusual sight of her brother's feet hovering over the top of the couch.

"I thought I heard something strange, but … Chuckie?"

"Perfect," Chuckie replied in a strained voice, trying to maintain his balance. "Hi Kimi. Can't sleep either?"

"Chuckie … " Kimi repeated quietly, " … is this the moment I've always feared?"

"What moment is that?"

"The moment when I realise its time for you to be institutionalised?"

Chuckie snorted.

"I have insomnia!"

Kimi giggled, finishing with a yawn.

"Whatever. I'm going back to bed. And Chuckie?"

"What?"

"It's times like these that I'm glad we're not genetically related."

Chuckie snorted again.

"Goodnight Kimi! Thank you for your concern."

"Any time!"

Kimi went back to her room. Not long after she left, Chuckie brought his feet back on the ground.

Poor Chuckie. He was falling for his childhood nemesis! If only he could come to terms with it, he might actually get some sleep. Or not …

* * *

"_And so came Monday! The beginning of the end, in my opinion ... "_

Monday morning. Chuckie stepped off the bus and entered the school building. He snaked his way through the crowd in the main hall; students opening their lockers, packing their bags, collecting their books for first class, chatting about their weekend … one guy speeding down the hall on a scooter while wearing a sombrero. Dil, of course.

And yet, despite the chaos (an enraged hall monitor zipped past, hot on Dil's tail) Chuckie kept his head down and focused on the subject that had kept him up all night.

Meanwhile, near by …

"It's doomed! I have a stigma."

"Ew! A what?"

"Tommy'll always see me as the 'girl he's known forever, like a sister' … not a girlfriend. _That's_ my stigma!"

"That's what a 'stigma' is?" Kimi giggled. Lil slapped her lightly.

"Shut up. I'm very depressed!"

"Oh, lighten up! Tommy's madly in love with you. He's a boy, so his brain operates slower than ours on this type of thing. And besides … " Kimi paused to sigh. "_I'm_ the one who should be depressed. Your stupid brother still hasn't made a move on me! I'm starting to think he's losing interest. Like maybe I'm a phase … "

"You're not a phase," Lil assured her. "Phil couldn't express his feelings if they were painted in front of him on cue cards."

"Yeah, but – "

"Hey guys."

"AH!"

Kimi and Lil yelped in fright. Chuckie, quite innocently, had intruded upon their discussion. Luckily for them, he hadn't caught a word they said. He'd been too busy thinking about his own problems.

"Gee, sorry! Am I interrupting something?"

"NO!" Kimi and Lil answered together. This only made Chuckie more suspicious.

"I mean, ah …" Lil spoke clumsily, " … morning Chuckie!"

"Yeah, morning!"said Kimi, with a tense grin. "Get any sleep last night in the end?"

"No, not really … " Chuckie replied, remaining suspicious and eyeing one to the other. "Are you two okay?"

"Of course!" Lil practically snapped. "We're only … er, excited! About our first class. English!"

"Math," corrected Kimi.

"Right! We gotta go or we'll be late. See you at lunch, Chuckie!"

"Yeah, see you at lunch!"

And then, moving as fast as Dil on a scooter, they left.

Chuckie knew there was something going on with Kimi and Lil, but whatever it was he didn't have time to mull on it. Angelica was walking straight toward him! Only she was flanked by Savannah and the other two members of the 'Brat Pack'.

They strode down the hall like royalty. Usually Chuckie wouldn't give them a second look, except now … with his impending crush on Angelica, he was particularly vulnerable to whether she'd say 'hi' to him or not. She _never_ acknowledges him when she's with them. But maybe, just maybe … after everything they'd gone through …

He stood there. An open target, his heart bared on his sleeve! She walked closer and closer, heading in his direction. Chuckie was severely aware of his blood pumping through his body … and then, she looked at him. Her blue eyes locked into his.

_She's going to smile at me!_ Chuckie thought excitedly, his mouth curving upwards. He raised a hand to wave …

But it didn't come to anything. Angelica only looked at Chuckie an instant. And then, as if she'd seen something she wasn't supposed too, she quickly looked away and pretended he wasn't there. Chuckie's smile faded, and he dropped his hand.

_Nothings changed. _

**

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Oh my god, AN UPDATE! Been busy, no time to read or write. Excuses, excuses :) Hopefully you'll find it in your heart to drop me a review. And a special thanks princess-sally2005 who's done artwork for this story. If you wanna see it, check out the link to her homepage on her profile. Many, many thanks! **


	6. Chapter Six

_It's all in the eyes._

* * *

"So?" said Dil flippantly, after Chuckie told him and Tommy about Angelica's hurtful snub at school. "Angelica doesn't say hi to any of us when she's around Savannah and those brats." 

"I know, but considering we'd grown closer over the weekend I thought she might _at least_ smile at me," Chuckie responded weakly. "Yeah, I know. Fat chance, Chuckie! I felt like running after her down the hall, reminding her in front of her stupid friends how I almost killed myself saving her bracelet! But I didn't … "

* * *

" … _I avoided Angelica for as long as I could that week, before I had no choice but to face her in Biology on Friday. Until then I watched her from afar, usually in the lunchroom. Wednesday sticks out in my mind - and NOT in a good way."_

"Chuckie, are going to eat your yogurt?" Phil asked hopefully, sitting across from him.

"Huh? Er, no. Go ahead, I'm not that hungry."

"Score! Cheers buddy."

It was true Chuckie wasn't hungry, but more importantly he'd been too busy all of lunch sneaking furtive looks behind his shoulder towards Angelica and her 'brat pack' at the other side of the room. Angelica with Savannah, and their two other snivelling friends, chatting and laughing at their table like high school royalty. And then, to complete the pretty picture, Brad Pittman sat down to join them. Chuckie's neck flushed bright red.

Kimi watched him all the while. She was sitting next to Phil. They were the only one's sitting with Chuckie that day, Tommy and Lil had other commitments.

"Chuckie, forget Brad Pittman!" she pleaded, noticing the death-glare Chuckie was giving him. Chuckie turned around. "I told you, he's an idiot. He's not worth your attention. Let it go!"

"I will _not_ let it go!" said Chuckie fiercely, turning back. Brad was sitting beside Angelica now. They were both talking animatedly, Angelica fluttering her eyelashes and smiling at everything he said. The blood streamed from Chuckie's neck to his ears.

"Chuckie, get a hold of yourself," advised Kimi, noticing how worked up he was becoming. "You're turning the same colour as your hair!"

"I gotta go," said Chuckie, standing abruptly. He _had_ to leave that lunchroom! Before it was difficult to tell where his face ended and his hair began.

"Wait!" Kimi called after him, but it was no use. Phil looked up from his yogurt, which he'd been paying attention to the entire time.

"Where's Chuck going?"

Kimi scoffed rudely. "Phil, you're _so_ insensitive!

"What I do?" he said, not knowing what he did to deserve such an accusation.

* * *

"_I was determined to stay angry with Angelica. If anything I was more angry with her by Friday when we finally had Biology. To make things even worse, she acted like everything was okay between us! Even though she hadn't made any effort to talk to me all week or apologise for Monday."_

It was a minute until class started. Chuckie was sitting in the back row of the classroom when Angelica made her entrance. Brad was there as well, sitting in the front. She winked at him as she passed, and his eyes lingered on her as she strutted away heading towards Chuckie.

"_Huh_!" she sighed dramatically, pulling up her chair next to him. "What a fantastic week this has been! So have you handed in the assignment yet?"

At that moment the Biology teacher came in and told everyone to be quiet, so Angelica didn't have time to register that something was clearly wrong with Chuckie … though she picked up on it as the class proceeded. By the end of class she took her chance to speak with him.

"Chuckie, _what's_ the matter? You've been grinding your jaw for the entire lesson. Did you get your braces put back in or something?"

She was joking around with him, but he determinedly ignored her and gathered his books. Angelica laughed, trying to keep things light.

"Snap out of it already! Why didn't you tell me you were taking a vowel of silence this week?"

"I'm going to hand in the assignment," he said coldly, without meeting her eyes and walking away from her. He couldn't handle the fact she was pretending everything was normal between them!

"Chuckie!" she called after him, as he handed in the assignment at the teacher's desk. He continued ignoring her and walked out the door, though Angelica was hot on his heels.

"_Chuckie_! Chuckie, what gives!" she tried again, but he marched onwards. Then another voice rang out, from behind them.

"Angelica!" It was Savannah. Both Angelica and Chuckie halted and turned around. "Angelica, what are you doing?"

She was looking from Angelica to Chuckie, eye-brows raised.

"Ah … " stumbled Angelica, turning back to Chuckie.

Chuckie and Angelica's eyes met for the first time. Chuckie, although he knew it was hopeless, decided to test her again. _Don't pretend _he begged her with his eyes, an awful hollow feeling in his chest. _Don't pretend I'm not here!_

There was so much emotion in Chuckie's eyes at that instant Angelica couldn't help but be floored. She actually looked quite desperate; Chuckie before her and Savannah behind her, the tapping of Savannah's impatient foot filling up the awkward silence.

"_Angelica_!"

"Yeah, coming!" Angelica cried back, unlocking her eyes from Chuckie's and turning her back on him. Chuckie watched her walk away, noiticing Savannah surveying him with an up-turned nose.

"What were you doing?" he heard her ask Angelica snootily.

"Nothing, discussing homework," said Angelica, back in 'brat pack' mode. "You know I have to be paired up with Finster for Biology!"

Her words cut through Chuckie like a blade. _"I have to be paired up with Finster for Biology!" _She made it sound as tedious as having to clean a toilet. He heard them discuss something else about _"tomorrow night"_ and some _"massive party"_, but by then he'd lost interest. Chuckie left the hall, wishing he could erase Angelica from his mind.

**

* * *

Yay, the story is back! Hope you guys liked the latest chapter. It's not that long but it's something for now :)**


	7. Chapter Seven

_This ... means ... WAR!_

* * *

"_Later that evening at dinner, everyone was grilling me about my bad mood. Mom and dad figured I should be happy seeing I'd been so confident about getting that A in Biology … "_

"I'm a bit sick is all," Chuckie lied at the dinner table, after a round of concerned questions from his parents. Kimi was there as well, and she too was concerned about Chuckie but also suspicious. She didn't believe for a second he was ill.

"Do you think you need a doctor?" Kira suggested, still worried. "Maybe we shouldn't go out tonight, Chazz dear?"

"Nah, it's fine mom. Really!" Chuckie reassured her, with a lopsided smile. "I'm beat. I think I'll go to bed early … "

He cleared his part of the table (his half-finished plate of food and juice) and escaped to his bedroom where he could be depressed in peace.

But peace didn't last long. About twenty minutes later Chuckie heard the phone ring outside, followed by a knock at his door. Annoyed, because he'd been reasonably comfortable lying on his bed staring vacantly up at the ceiling, was forced to answer the door to Kimi.

"It's for you," she said, handing him the cordless.

"Who is it?" Chuckie asked.

"It's Phil. He wants to make plans with you for tomorrow. Talk to him yourself!"

_Pathetic, Chuckie. Real pathetic!_ he thought, repulsed. _As if Angelica would call you now! Take Kimi's advice and give it up._

He couldn't believe he allowed himself to imagine Angelica was on the phone! Obviously there was some piece of him, dangling by a thread, hoping she'd apologise for how badly she'd treated him.

"Hello?" said Chuckie into the phone, sounding glum. Kimi closed the door to his bedroom - but with herself inside. Then, to Chuckie's annoyance, she plopped herself on the end of Chuckie's bed and waited for him to finish.

_Hasn't she heard of a thing called privacy!_

"Sure Phil, we can hang out tomorrow night. What time? Okay, see you then. Bye."

Chuckie hung up. He'd arranged to meet Phil for Saturday night. Even though he'd more or less comitted himself to the idea of staying in his room for more vacant, ceiling-staring over the coming weekend, he reasoned he should make an effort to 'let go' of Angelica. If he stayed on his own for two days he'd be subjected to the mental torture of thinking about her the entire time. Perhaps Phil would prove to be the ideal distraction.

Kimi cleared her voice, reminding Chuckie she was there.

"I don't feel like talking right now, Kimi," said Chuckie, not trying to come across too rudely but he really wasn't up for a chat.

"Just tell me," Kimi began, "that something else hasn't happened between you and Brad Pittman."

"What do you mean?" said Chuckie, who's mind's voice couldn't help but bellow: _Angelica's all over him like bees on honey!_ Though why should that bother him, really? He said so himself before, Angelica has a new flavour of the week … well, every week! Soon Brad would be old news and she'll be swooning over someone new. No wait, that did bother him!

"Brad Pittman has a reputation for being a bully," Kimi explained further. "You've been so bummed out since Monday, I thought maybe he did something else to you I didn't know about. Especially after I saw you glaring at him that day, like you were trying to condemn him to the underworld with mindpower."

"No Kimi, the only time I've ever come into contact with the wonderful Brad Pittman was in the lunchroom last week," Chuckie cleared up sourly. "The first and last time, I should hope!"

"The wonderful Brad Pittman?" repeated Kimi sarcastically. "Where did that come from?"

"Erm … "

_Should I come clean? _Chuckie pondered with uncertainty. _Should I tell Kimi about Angelica? _But what was it about Angelica exactly he wanted to divulge? It wasn't just the snub on Monday, or the fact she'd treated him like a ghost all week after she'd saved his life only the weekend before …

_I'm in love with Angelica. _It was the first time he'd let himself think it. It didn't take him by surprise, he'd been expecting it to rear it's ugly head sooner or later.

"I don't know, I'm just venting I guess," said Chuckie, picking up his conversation with Kimi. "Look Kimi, I'm pretty tired. I'm gonna go to bed now … "

Kimi wasn't convinced, but gave it up anyway. "All right, Chuckie. Take it easy. And remember if you want to talk about anything I'm here."

* * *

"_Saturday night. The night I'll never forget for as long as I live!"_

After a solid day of 'trying-not-to-think-about-Angelica', Chuckie met up with Phil. Yesterday he'd been flat and depressed, but today he'd worked himself into a quiet rage and was pending for an explosion at any moment.

Chuckie and Phil walked down the street with the intention of buying some burgers for dinner. Phil was in the middle of telling Chuckie a story, though Chuckie for his part was having trouble paying attention. It wasn't Phil's fault, under usual circumstances Chuckie would've been interested.

"That's why Lil wasn't in the lunchroom on Friday, she was at the football field with Tommy," Phil rambled. "I don't get it? Why does she need Tommy's help with soccer moves? _She's _the one who should be helping him! Not that I'm saying Tommy's a lousy player, but Lil's better then all of us at the game. She's even better then me! Yes, okay I'll admit it." He held up his hands in defeat. "As her sibling - her _male_ sibling at that, it cuts me up inside. But I'm man enough to roll with it!"

He went on, telling Chuckie how Lil and Kimi dropped them tonight to watch some chick flick at the cinema, and how Tommy was busy editing one of his film projects … when he couldn't help noting how Chuckie appeared to be off the planet. Granted, Phil could be totally blind to people in a bad mood, but he'd have to be blind, deaf _and_ mute to miss this one.

"What's the matter, Chuck? Is this conversation boring you?"

Chuckie came back to earth. He hadn't been ignoring Phil completely, he'd made a half-hearted effort to listen to some of what he'd said. Now he felt bad for hurting Phil's feelings.

"No, that's not it," said Chuckie in all seriousness, hanging his head. They'd both stopped walking. "Phil, I've got a major problem!"

Chuckie couldn't contain it any longer. The explosion was on the horizon! He figured Phil was a nice, neutral person to come clean with. He didn't really want to tell a girl, let alone Kimi. He thought of telling Tommy but that might be weird because Angelica is his cousin.

"Well," said Phil, now in suspense, "what's the problem then?"

"_Wah_!" Chuckie cried out suddenly, blowing his top and pulling at his hair. A number of people who'd been passing by on the street observed him with extreme caution.

"Dude!" said Phil, severely taken aback by his friend. "What is it? You want a new hairstyle or something?"

"No! What?"

"Then do you want to be bald? Is that why you're trying to rip your hair out?"

"I'm ripping my hair out because I'M IN LOVE WITH ANGELICA!"

After this outburst, louder and more intense then the former, people actually walked around Chuckie, as if he were emitting toxic fumes. Phil had almost fallen over backwards. Not in a million years did ever expect to hear those words come out of Chuckie Finster's mouth!

Chuckie, now thoroughly dismal, covered his face with his hands and groaned. "I'm in love with Angelica."

Phil was having trouble blinking. "Are … are you sure?"

"YES!"

"Okay! Okay … dude, this is _whacked_! Who else knows?"

"Nobody. So you better keep your mouth shut, Phil!"

"Like anybody would believe me if I did. I'm hearing you say it and I don't even believe it!"

And then, coming down the street from behind them, was none other then Brad Pittman flanked by two of his friends. Chuckie couldn't believe it! He yanked Phil to the side of the street, so not as to draw attention to himself.

"Ouch! That's my arm," Phil hissed irritably, but shut up after the glare Chuckie gave him.

"Let's go eat these burgers and get outta here!" said Brad, walking slightly ahead of the other two. "I can't be late for my own party."

"B-man, you got a whore set up for tonight?" asked one of his charming friends.

"Dude, I _always_ got whores on the sidelines. But don't worry, there should be plenty to go around! There is one in particular … "

After a minute or two, Chuckie said to Phil in a low, grave voice: "We're following them."

"Huh? But Chuck, why would we want to follow a bunch of seniors?"

"Just _do it_!"

"Ah!"

Chuckie, yanking Phil's arm again, pulled him down the street after Brad until they reached the burger joint they'd been planning on going to anyway. They followed Brad inside, through the automatic doors. Phil was enjoying being undercover ... even though he didn't fully understand _why_ they'd gone undercover in the first place.

"Be inconspicuous," Chuckie ordered. Phil nodded resolutely, playing along.

"Got ya, Chuck!"

Once buying three burgers, fries and three sodas, Brad and his friends went to a booth to scoff down their meal. After buying their own food, Chuckie and Phil followed suit, seating themselves in a booth behind that of Brad's. They could hear every word he and his friends were saying.

"So B-man, who's this one girl you were referring to before?"

Swallowing a mouthful of burger with gusto, Brad answered: "Angelica Pickles."

Phil, who'd been sipping his soda through a straw, coughed and choked. Chuckie kicked him under the table. Luckily, Brad nor his friends noticed and kept on talking.

"You know, that hot little blonde in the year below us? She's been all over me all week, man! Probably won't even have to drug her to get her into bed."

"But you're gonna slip her the stuff anyway, right?" the other friend asked.

"'Course, it's my signature move. At some point during the night I'll offer her a drink and then … " he cackled with laughter, " … I am _in_!"

His friends cackled along with him, spurring him on. Soon after, they decided to save time and take their burgers to go, and drive to Brad's family's holiday house where the party would be.

Phil and Chuckie remained in their booth, horror-struck by what they'd heard. And then -

"CHUCKIE!"

After a moment of shocked silence, Chuckie bolted up out of his seat, more furious then he'd ever felt in his life. Every word Brad had said made him sick to the stomach; and, if Phil hadn't leapt on top of him and forced him to the ground Chuckie might've run after Brad and attacked him like an enraged lion.

Everyone within the vicinity stared: Chuckie, cursing and clawing the ground, weighed down by a resilient Phil.

"Chuckie, take a breather! C'mon, we can figure this out!"

Chuckie ceased struggling, breathing heavily.

"Now I know why you wanted to follow that guy," Phil went on. "This is way serious! What are we gonna do?"

"Maybe we should call the police," Chuckie reasoned, speaking between breaths.

"I thought about that myself. But be real, Chuck! If the seniors knew we narked on their party we'll be receiving crack-breaking wedgies until we graduate! Or worse, if this guy Brad's capable of drugging girls into sleeping with him."

"We gotta do it, Phil!" cried Chuckie passionately. "We can't let Brad do this to Angelica!"

"You're right," Phil consented drearily. "We should go to the cops. My ass hurts just thinking about the future wedgies we'll receive!"

"Or," said Chuckie, thinking further, "we could go to the party ourselves and try and warn Angelica before anything happens."

"But how are we going to get there? And who knows where this holiday house of Brad's is anyway?"

"Susie will know," said Chuckie with assurance. "Susie's always up-to-date with social events. For all we know she might even be going."

"Good thinking, buddy. We better act fast!"

"I couldn't agree more. Mind getting the _hell_ off me?"

The two boys stood and brushed themselves off. People continued ogling them. Phil smiled stupidly and waved at the crowd, before Chuckie motioned for them to leave. As they rushed back down the street, Chuckie pulled out his mobile from his jean's pocket and dialled Susie. Once she'd answered, he asked her if she was going to Brad Pittman's party tonight, though her response was less than enthusiastic.

"_As if _I'd be seen at one of Brad Pittman's keg-parties!" Susie scolded Chuckie in disgust. "Besides, I'm baby-sitting tonight. Angelica's going but don't tell anyone I told you! She told her parents she's at mine tonight. Man am I sick of sticking up for that girl … what's this all about anyway?"

"Susie, do you at least know where the party is? An address would be real helpful!"

"Oh no," moaned Susie, sounding disappointed. "Chuckie, don't tell me you want to crash Brad Pittman's party. This is not the way to get popular! But it is a good way to get yourself killed, if that interests you."

"That's not why I'm asking! Please Susie, I can't explain everything right now I promise I'll tell you later. Just _please_! An address?"

He got it. Susie gave him the address. By coincidence, Brad's family's holiday house was at the lake where he and Angelica had been the weekend before. By now, Chuckie and Phil were back on their street, outside Phil's house.

"So!" said Phil, breathless after running most of the way. "What now?"

"I'm going to steal my dad's car."

"You're going to … WHAT!"

"I've been taking driving lessons, I can handle it! We can't let anyone else in on this Phil, Susie said Angelica lied to her parents. Nobody has a clue she's going to the party tonight, we can't dob her in!"

"_Whacked_ … " exhaled Phil, totally astounded at this 'new' Chuckie. "You _are_ in love! Let me get something in my house real quick, then meet me outside."

In agreement, Chuckie ran for his house as Phil ran for his. _Mom and dad couldn't have picked a better night to go out! _And_ leave dad's car behind _thought Chuckie, racing towards his front door. He zoomed inside the house, making quick work of grabbing his dad's car keys and locking up, before coming outside again and buckling himself into the driver's seat of his dad's car.

_I'm doing this. I'm _really_ doing this!_

He revved the engine, backed out of the driveway and onto the road. Sure there was a magnitude of things wrong with what Chuckie was doing that night. There was also a magnitude of things that _could_ go wrong. None of it escaped Chuckie's usually fear-ridden mind, but he had to block it all out. With his thoughts firmly on Angelica, he drove into Phil's driveway. Phil had been waiting for him on the lawn. He came towards the car ... carrying a small crate?

"Phil, what is that?" Chuckie had to ask, as Phil heaved the thing into the backseat with a grunt. After he'd hopped in the backseat next to crate, Chuckie realised what he'd brought.

"Phil … why do you we need the army kit we used to play with as kids?"

"It wasn't _that_ long ago when we played with this stuff," said Phil, opening the crate and putting on an army helmet. "See? My helmet still fits. I've also got the binoculars, smoke bombs, fireworks, green face paint … hey, the walkie-talkies are in here!"

"Phil!"

Phil chuckled. "Trust me, Chuck. This will come in handy. We may have to infiltrate enemy territory!"

_War it is then_ Chuckie thought appropriately, and drove back out onto the road.

* * *

**Thanks for the reviews guys. Another chapter is on the way!**


	8. Chapter Eight

_"See right through me, don't you Finster?"_

* * *

Driving down the highway, Chuckie and Phil were half-an-hour from Brad Pittman's lake house. Phil had moved from the back seat to the front, wearing his army helmet and – to Chuckie's dismay – he'd begun applying green war paint to his face.

"Phil, cut it out!"

"I'm getting into character," said Phil coolly, as though having a green face were perfectly normal.

"This isn't one of Tommy's movies," said Chuckie, remembering the last time they used Phil's army kit: Tommy's adaptation of _Platoon_ two years earlier, in which Vietnam had been Tommy's backyard. "I don't want to draw attention to us. Involving the police sounded like a good idea before, but I _really_ don't want to involve them now!"

"Uh oh," said Phil with a smirk. "Did you just realise what you're doing is dead illegal?"

"Phil … "

"You're underage, you don't have a license, you've stolen your dad's car – "

"Yes, I know! Thank you!" Chuckie spat, queasy at the sound of his amassed rule-breaking. "Let's not make matters worse, should someone look in the car only to see a sixteen year old driver and his friend the ninja turtle!"

_I'm going to be in SO much trouble if I screw this up! _Chuckie contemplated ominously, feeling a particular stab of guilt at the thought of his dad. He had to drown out his conscious! This was best achieved by imagining himself charging gallantly into the party, punching 'B-man' in the head (breaking his nose in the process), followed by a grateful Angelica running into his arms while watched by the scandalized faces of Savannah and the other brat-packers.

_I'm deluded_ he assessed some time later.

As for Phil, he was entertaining a very different fantasy. Judging by the intense, focused look he had on his face, he was back in the trenches of Vietnam.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Chuckie asked, glancing at him sideways from the wheel. Phil smiled.

"It's for a good cause."

Chuckie smiled in return, happy in the end to have Phil's company. His ability to turn their situation into a game took the edge off.

"Now remember, Chuck. You're 'spidermonkey' and I'm 'wingman'!"

Too far.

"Pardon?"

"Those were our old codenames, remember? When we were kids? We can use them again when we use the walkie-talkies!"

"Phil … aren't you taking this too seriously?"

Phil rolled his eyes, exasperated

"Chuckie, think! We need a gameplan here. We're going to be _gatecrashers_!" He sounded positively thrilled. "How do you think you were going to save Angelica tonight anyway?"

Chuckie decided to spare Phil his 'charging-gallantly-breaking-Brad's-nose-grateful-Angelica' fantasy.

"Well … I didn't imagine anything involving green war paint!"

What _was_ he going to do? This was a valid question in need of an answer. He said before he wanted to warn Angelica about Brad in advance … but then he'd rather do it anonymously, if possible.

"What time is it?" Chuckie asked, before thinking some more.

Phil consulted his wrist watch. "Ten o'clock. That's cool, parties usually don't get happening 'til around eleven. Angelica's probably not even there … "

"Phil?"

" … yet."

Phil was distracted, staring out his window to the lane opposite at the car driving beside them. _Savannahs_ car!

"Phil, what's wrong? What are you looking at?" Chuckie was afraid to take his eyes off the road.

"Er … "

Phil saw Savannah in the drivers seat, Angelica riding shotgun, and Christy Grabelski with Monet Mulford (the two other members of the exclusive entourage) sitting in the back. Suddenly, Monet Mulford – the school's closest thing to Claudia Schiffer – noticed Phil, her window being directly parallel to his. Phil noticed her back, and immediately forgot about Angelica. Monet glared at him incredulously, mouthing the word "_Ew_!", and then made to turn to her friends but Savannah had sped up. She drove past them, overtaking a number of cars on the way.

Phil lapsed into a momentary coma.

"Monet Mulford is so hot … " he groaned.

Chuckie frowned. "Angelica's friend, Monet Mulford? What made you think of her?"

"I just saw her in Savannah's car."

"_Savannahs car_!"

"Watch it!"

Chuckie swerved in alarm, causing an angry honk from the new car driving beside them. He pulled back with an "oops" and returned his attention to Phil.

"You saw Savannah's car?"

"Yeah," said Phil casually. "She was driving right next to us."

Chuckie panicked. "Did … did you see Angelica?"

"Yep. Guess that confirms she's not at the party yet, huh?"

"Did she see you? Did she see _me_?"

"Nah. Monet saw me, but I'm well disguised with this face paint. _Not _that she'd recognise me without it," he added indifferently. "I doubt someone like Monet Mulford knows I exist. Or you."

This was undoubtedly true. Chuckie calmed down. "In that case, we'll be arriving around the same time as them."

In the twenty minutes they had before arriving, Chuckie explained to Phil how he had come to like Angelica in the first place – at Phil's insistence. Phil thought the lake story was particularly amusing, and guffawed at the idea of Chuckie near-suicide.

"That's the craziest thing I've ever heard!" he laughed, bowled over.

"I could've died, Phil!" Chuckie found his reaction somewhat insensitive.

"Yeah. Over some chick's _jewellery_!"

"Shut up!"

"Was it just 'cause you wanted her to give you mouth-to-mouth?"

"I won't dignify that with an answer."

"No seriously, I'd do that … " Phil's mind was briefly back on Monet Mulford … and then on Kimi, his secret crush. But he kept _that one _disclosed from Chuckie!

They arrived at the lake. Wanting very much to change the subject, Chuckie asked Phil to double check the address.

"Number one, Lakeside Drive. That way … I think," he pointed ahead. The road directory was on his lap, which he read with a flashlight from his army kit.

Chuckie drove slowly, with a strong sense of déjà vu. This is where his dad had dropped him and Angelica off last weekend. The lake was to his left, now black and indistinguishable in the night's darkness.

Phil rolled down his window. "Hear that? Voices … and music. That'd be our party, my friend."

The road ended in a dead-end street – Lakeside Drive. Chuckie didn't drive all the way. He parked prematurely, twenty or so metres ahead.

"We better walk from here."

"Excellent!" said Phil, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. Then, leaning over the backseat, he retrieved his silver tube of green war paint and handed it to Chuckie. "Here."

"You don't expect me to – "

"_Chuckie_," Phil intervened sharply. "Since you failed to come up with a gameplan, allow me! First, I propose we find a place to stake out the joint. We need somewhere where we can spy on what's happening without being seen. However … " he continued, truly in his element, " … in the event that we _do_ have to enter the party – which is likely 'cause you'll want to save Angelica – you don't want to be recognised. Remember the crack-breaking wedgies I mentioned earlier? Do you _really_ want the seniors to know who you are?"

"No … "

"Then get to work!"

Able to see Phil's point of view, Chuckie begrudgingly took the tube of paint and started pasting some on his face. Afterwards, he inspected himself in the review mirror.

"My head looks like an avocado. Got another helmet?"

"That I do," Phil confirmed, also handing Chuckie a military-print army shirt to match. Chuckie squeezed into it, ripping it a touch. It was tighter then he last remembered. "Lucky it's all trees and green around here, we'll blend in no problem."

The disguise was complete. It was Tommy's _Platoon _all over again! Before departing the car, Phil donned a tool belt equipping his flashlight and four smoke canisters. He also hung a pair of binoculars around his neck. He gave Chuckie a rucksack, explaining: "that's got the telescope, your walkie-talkie, another flashlight, and a camouflage net."

Chuckie inspected the contents. "There's a can of coke in here too … and a giant bag of potato chips."

"_Sweet_!" said Phil enthusiastically. "In case we need nourishment."

"Yeah, except it's all probably over two years old," remarked Chuckie, not quite as enthused.

They jumped out of the car and locked it securely. Chuckie swung the rucksack onto his back. "Agh! This thing is heavier then a picnic basket. Why couldn't I get the belt?"

And they set off into the night! Streaking across the grass, bound for Lakeside Drive. It was exceptionally dark, due to a lack of street lights and wide stretches of forest. There were only a handful of houses in the area. The further they went, the louder the voices and music became. Also, the more parked cars they saw – including Savannah's. They made sure to keep well off the road, hidden in the shadows, as more people appeared and more cars drove up. They even managed to see Angelica and the brat pack; at which point Chuckie ducked behind a bush, taking Phil with him.

"I'm telling you, the guy was _green_!" Monet stressed to her friends.

"Monet, are you sure you didn't start drinking before we left home?" Savannah wisecracked, her and Monet walking ahead while Angelica and Christy Grabelski lagged behind.

Christy was trying to clasp a clip into her hair. Angelica's hair was down and curled, and she wore a red strapless top and dark blue jeans to match. Chuckie thought she looked even more intimidating then usual – ten thousand yards out of his league, in other words. Still, there was something 'off' about her. She seemed glum, walking with her head down and her arms folded. After a while she noticed her friend Christy's dilemma and offered a hand.

"Let me help you with that," she said, stopping to fix the clip into place.

"Thanks," said Christy, feeling it secured. They continued walking. "Angelica, are you okay? You haven't said much tonight. The way you talked about Brad all week I thought you'd be more psyched about the party."

"I'm psyched," said Angelica, though her voice couldn't have sounded less 'psyched' if she tried.

"Don't tell me you're over him already," Christy ribbed her. "You only get over a guy once you've replaced him with someone else. Does this mean you've moved on?"

"No!" Angelica answered shortly. "No, it's just … I _am_ psyched!" She tired harder, though it was still forced. "Really, I am. I didn't realise Brad's holiday house was by this lake, that's all."

"What does that have to with anything?"

"Nothing," Angelica shrugged. Then, lifting her chin up, began acting more 'psyched' for appearances sake as they neared the party.

"Oooh!" said Phil stupidly, after the girls were out of earshot. "Angelica said she didn't realise Brad's holiday house was by _this_ lake. I wonder why that would bother her?"

Angelica's words had not been lost on Chuckie, though he was more cynical then Phil. "Who knows. She's probably grumpy because her nail polish doesn't match her shoes."

"You could see her nail polish from here?"

"I was being hypothetical, Phil! C'mon, let's go … "

Rather then approach the house by road like the rest of the party-goers, the boys went via the forest – a more difficult but far more 'incognito' option. Phil also mused that if the house was close enough to the forest, they'd have a good chance of finding a tree to climb and establishing a stake-out point.

"It'd be perfect! Nobody would see us. All we have to do is find the right tree … "

They snaked through the forest, guided by their flashlights. It was tricky to maneuver; this part of the forest did not have a clear-cut path like the one Chuckie and Angelica had used the weekend before. However, it was necessary to travel this way in order to coincide with Lakeside Drive and Brad's house. Phil wasn't complaining. If anything the rugged territory felt more like Vietnam!

"How cool is this!" said Phil, adrenalin pumping.

"Yeah, cool. Especially the part where I can't see a stupid thing! AGH!" said Chuckie, colliding with a tree branch.

"Hey, lights up ahead. Check it out!" signalled Phil. "We made it."

"Let's turn our flashlights off," said Chuckie wisely, after spitting out a leaf.

They closed in. The sounds of music, laughter and numerous voices shouting "hey!" and "what's up!" mixed with the peaceful sounds of the forest around them. And there, across a small stretch of water, Brad's house illuminated into view. In all it's glory.

"Wicked pad!" said Phil, extremely impressed. Chuckie grumbled something inaudible, along the lines of "is okay".

The three-storey, modern home shined bright white beneath a full moon. It was in a prime position, right on the water. The bottom floor stretched out into an extensive balcony, right over the lake. Connected to the balcony was a long jetty, complete with a motorboat tied to the end. And, lucky for the _Platoon_ inspired army recruits secretly looking on, the majority of the party had congregated to the balcony itself. Not to mention the entire front side of the house was windowed, making it as transparent as a giant fish bowl.

Chuckie hastily dropped his rucksack to the ground and retrieved the miniature telescope within. He then aimed it at ground level, inside the house to where he could make out the front door. He was just in time to see Brad welcoming Savannah, followed by Monet, Christy and Angelica. His stomach lurched as he saw Brad lean in to kiss Angelica's cheek. His hand grazing her hip …

"Lousy, good-for-nothing, thinks he's so good, can't keep his hands to himself – huh? Phil?"

Phil had disappeared from Chuckie's side.

"Up here, Casanova!" came Phil's voice from above.

Chuckie looked up.

"_Phil_! You're in the tree!" he cried, stating the obvious. "How'd do you get up there so fast?"

"Well, while you were standing around mumbling to yourself, _I _decided to be constructive. Check it out," he indicated to something hanging off the side of the tree. "It's a rope ladder! And there's part of a wooden platform here, too. Looks like the remains of an abandoned treehouse. It couldn't be more perfect, Chuck!" He stood up on the platform, triumphant. "I can see everything from up here and more! It's almost like the universe wanted us to come here tonight and crash this party. It's destiny, Chuck! "

"Very deep, Phil," said Chuckie wryly. "But our primary objective is to save Angelica. Not gatecrash!"

"We can mix the two together," said Phil, unperturbed. "C'mon, I'll help you up."

As Chuckie struggled up the tree, Angelica and her friends went out onto the balcony.

"Brad is so into you!" squealed Savannah to Angelica, holding a beer. "Remember, play it cool for half-an-hour or so, and then – "

"I _know_ how to play it, Savannah!" Angelica interrupted rudely. "I've been around this block more then once."

"What's with the attitude?" said Savannah, putting an imposing hand on her hip. "I'm just saying you don't want to screw this up. Think of the group! Brad is one of the most popular guys at school. You score with him, and you'll be all anyone talks about for weeks. It'll cement our reputation! That only the hottest and coolest guys go out with _us_."

Angelica seemed nauseous. "I need a drink."

"Me too," said Christy, following Angelica as she stalked away. She followed her to a table where a number of people had gathered. Angelica made a beeline for the punch bowl. Christy was behind her.

"Okay, we're alone. Spill!"

"No way! I want to drink this," said Angelica, serving herself punch.

"Not the punch. I mean spill on who's the new guy you like! It's obvious you're not into Brad anymore."

"Yes I am!" Her voice was two octaves higher.

"_Angelica_!"

"Okay fine!" Her voice was back to normal; she gulped down the punch with gusto. "I don't know what's going on! Quit hassling me. I feel … weird tonight. Maybe it's cold feet?"

"Savannah's going to murder you if you blow it with Brad. _Not _that you should get with him for her sake. If you're not feeling it, back off. There are plenty of other cool guys at school who'd go out with you."

Angelica gulped down another cup of punch – in one go. Wiping her mouth, she appeared newly resolved. "No Christy. I started this thing, and I'm going to finish it! Its cold feet, that's all … " she served herself some more punch " … it happens sometimes."

Christy was worried. "It's never happened to you before."

"So? It's a full moon tonight," Angelica pointed dramatically to the sky. "Anything can happen!"

Telling Christy she needed some breathing space, Angelica skulked through the party, her cup of punch in hand, to the balcony's edge to take in the view of the lake cast in moonlight.

A pair of ducks peacefully swam by. Her eyes followed them … as did Chuckie's.

_Could she be remembering last weekend?_

"I'm telling you, Chuck. Angelica's not into this at all!" came Phil's voice over Chuckie's thoughts. He was scoping the scene with his binoculars.

Since Chuckie had climbed the tree, both he and Phil had setup quite the little stake-out point: they'd hung the green camouflage net around the ruins of the treehouse, so that they blended in easily with the tree's foliage. Somebody from the party would have to have exceptional eyesight to spot them.

"Look at her. She's miserable!" Phil went on, still referring to Angelica. "There's a party roaring behind her, and she's alone and sad. It's like Dil disbelieving in aliens. WAY out of character! Savannah's not too happy about it either, she looks mad … oh MAN!"

"What? What do you see?" said Chuckie, a little panicked.

"They've got jello shots! I _love_ jello shots. Where's that bag of old potato chips … "

As Phil searched for potato chips, Chuckie refocused his telescope back to Angelica. She continued watching the ducks, swimming further and further away from the house. Chuckie was sure she was thinking of him. She _had_ to be! Warmth exploded from his heart and coursed through his entire being. He forgot any bad feelings he'd previously held against her. He even felt tempted to call out to her, then and there. Until …

"What are you doing standing all by yourself?"

_Brad_. With one hand holding a beer and the other on the small of Angelica's back, he had swooped in on his prey. Angelica's demeanor immediately changed, going from sad to bright and chirpy in a blink.

Chuckie was left cold.

"Well … " said Phil, noticing Chuckie tense up " … at least he won't be offering her a drink right away. She seems pretty fond of that punch."

And so it went on for another torturous hour. Brad and Angelica talked and talked and drank and drank. Savannah no longer appeared mad; she was examining them from afar, very pleased with their progress.

"I'll be right back," said Angelica to Brad, loudly so that he could hear her over the music.

As she walked away through the crowd, Christy bypassed her. Holding a glass.

"Drink this." She handed the glass to Angelica, who was bemused by the offer.

"What is this, vodka?"

"It's water."

"_Water_! Christy, are you trying to humiliate me? Nobody drinks water at a party!"

"You're drunk, Angelica. You need hydration."

"I'm not drunk, idiot! I'm a lil' tipsy is all. What's with the parental concern? Has my mom entered your body?"

"Fine so you're tipsy, but you're heading for worse if you don't control your intake of punch. And I'm concerned because it's not like you to get drunk. Especially just to convince yourself into liking some guy!"

"I am _not_ trying to convince myself that I like Brad! I totally like Brad. For your information, we were having the most amazing conversation just then."

"Oh yeah? About what?"

"Well … it was … private. So there! I may have tuned out in a few parts … or more."

"He's boring you to death, isn't he?"

"_So_ much! Oh my god, you have no idea. He doesn't stop talking about how great he is at football and everything else on the planet!"

"So you admit it. You're drinking yourself into delirium just so you can stand to talk to him."

"_No_! I'm drinking myself into delirium so I don't have to think about – '

Angelica did not finish the sentence, but it didn't matter. Christy was on to her.

"Think about what, Angelica?"

"Nothing."

"You _do_ like somebody else, don't you?"

"I have to pee now."

"ANGELICA!"

Angelica dashed for the bathroom, out of Christy's clutches. However, because there was an enormous line for the bathroom on the bottom floor, Angelica cut to the staircase and climbed the stairs until she reached the top.

"Perfect. Nobody's up here!"

Meanwhile …

"Where is she?"

"Top floor."

Chuckie and Phil were still at it, telescope and binoculars in hand.

"What she doing on the top floor?"

Phil snorted. "How should I know! Maybe she wanted to see Brad's room."

"Not helping, Phil!"

"Sorry. Want a stale potato chip? I found one that hasn't gone green and crusty around the edges."

"I'll pass."

Angelica stumbled across the bathroom – or rather, the ensuite bathroom. There was nothing on the top floor but a spacious spare bedroom. She crossed the room and shut herself inside the bathroom in question. Little to her knowledge, two military spies could see her right through the window …

Chuckie laid down his telescope, blushing.

"Put your binoculars away she's going to the toilet."

"Aw!"

"Phil!"

Phil chuckled. "Kidding dude. I'm not that sick! I'll continue to watch our man Brad."

"All right," conceded Chuckie, looking at Phil sideways. "Just make sure you keep your attention on Brad."

"Chuckie, trust me. I didn't come all this way to see Angelica take a dump! Uh oh … "

" 'Uh oh' What?"

"Bottom floor. Kitchen. Look for yourself."

Chuckie did so. What he saw was Brad surrounded by the two friends he and Phil had seen him with earlier that night. One of them was filling a wine glass and Brad was holding a small jar of pills.

"Time to infiltrate enemy territory yet, boss?" asked Phil, sounding eager.

"Negative," said Chuckie, painfully clenching his jaw in anger. "Let's wait a minute. He hasn't put anything in that wine yet ... "

"Angelica's off the can."

"_Phil_! You weren't supposed to look!"

"I figured she'd finished! And she has. Plus she's crying."

"What?" said Chuckie, immediately changing his course of vision to the bathroom on the top floor. "She is crying … "

Standing before the mirror over the sink, Angelica dabbed her eyes with toilet paper, cleaning the places where her mascara had run.

"What a mess," she chastised her reflection, sniffing. "Get yourself together, Pickles!"

She opened her purse and searched for her mascara and concealer. After some careful re-application, she'd fixed her eyes and evened out her skin tone so she no longer appeared blotchy. She smiled – _perfect._ Nobody would know she'd been upset.

"Angelica? Are you in there?"

"_Shoot_!"

Brad had since left the kitchen, searching for her. He called out her name when he noticed the light was on in the ensuite bathroom.

"Out in a sec!" Angelica called back, shoving everything back into her purse. "How did you know I was up here?"

"Somebody spied you," answered Brad, sitting on the edge of the bed. Fortunate for Angelica, he'd come up without the wine glass. "I was waiting for you on the balcony, but since you didn't show I asked around to see where you went."

Opening the bathroom door, Angelica came out and met him on the other side. "Er, yeah sorry about that. I went to use the toilet but that line downstairs is killer! Hope you don't mind I came up here instead."

"Don't sweat it, it's nothing," said Brad, cool as ever. "Why don't you er … " he patted a space beside him " … come sit down. Relax."

Angelica shifted awkwardly on the spot, before deciding to say: "sure."

She sat down – not too close.

"You seem a bit uptight. Everything okay?" Brad inquired, looking her over.

"Yeah!" Angelica responded quickly. "Yeah, it's just … I've had so much punch, you know. That's stuff mostly sugar, it makes me a little edgy."

"Really? Well, I think I've got the cure for that," said Brad smoothly, rubbing a bit of her hair between his fingers. "You dig red wine? I've got this real expensive bottle of Merlot downstairs I wanted to try … I can bring you up a glass if you'd like? What do you say."

Angelica agreed – mainly to get rid of him more then anything. As he was about to leave, he stopped at the door and said, "when I come back up, I can tell you more about that touchdown I made at the game last month."

"Can't wait!" said Angelica, fake-smiling. Brad didn't pick up on it, and went downstairs to get the wine. Angelica dropped her face despondently into her lap.

"Somebody help me!"

From across the lake, Phil smiled. "I told you she wasn't into him, Chuck! Did you see the look on her face when Brad left the room? She couldn't wait to get rid of him!"

Not even Chuckie could talk himself out of the fact that Angelica was indeed over Brad. "What a relief! But that still leaves us with the problem of the wine." Chuckie followed Brad down the stairs with his telescope, and back to the kitchen. Brad met back up with his friends. One of them had the pills …

"He's done it!" said Phil abruptly, watching Brad slyly sneak two pills into the glass of Merlot. "He's done it! He's drugged the wine!"

"Let's move out!" said Chuckie, just as abruptly. He packed away the telescope and everything else into the rucksack, going as fast as he could. "Oh god, oh god!"

"Don't tell me you're gonna wuss out now!" Phil branded him, taking down the camouflage net.

"Of course I'm wussing out!" Chuckie spat, hoisting the rucksack and moving towards the rope ladder. "But like that's stopped me before! How long did it take us to get from the street to here?"

"Through the forest? About ten minutes."

"Ten minutes … and it'd take about five to get from the street to the house. That doesn't leave us with much time!"

"Affirmative. So GO already!"

"I AM!"

They sprinted through the forest, running into many tree branches and falling over a number of times on their way.

"I really think we should use the codenames from now on!" Phil shouted from behind Chuckie.

"But we're not using the walkie-talkies!" Chuckie shouted back, maintaining his speed.

"Doesn't matter! We don't want to use our real names when we're inside the party. Got your smoke canisters ready?"

"Yep. You?"

"Like you need to ask! I came up with this plan."

Back to Angelica …

"I shouldn't stay. I have to get out of here!"

No longer sitting on the bed, Angelica was pacing the room. Back and forth, back and forth she'd go; manically talking to herself. She was torn. On one side she wanted to leave the party, but then … how would she explain herself next week at school? Savannah would crucify her for sneaking out early!

"Oh screw Savannah and what she thinks! I'm outta here … Brad!"

As she made to move for the doorway, Brad blocked her path. He had returned – with the wine this time round.

"Going somewhere, Angelica?"

"As a matter of fact, I was." Angelica concluded it would be best to be straightforward from this point. "Brad, I'm sorry but I have to go."

"Go? But the party's just getting started! Where do you have to run off to so fast?"

"I need to go home! Something's happened at home. Please let me through the door."

"Not until you try this wine," said Brad teasingly, waving the wine glass in front of her nose. "C'mon I brought it all the way up here for you, the least you could do is try it."

Angelica didn't want to lead him on any further. In a more firm voice, she said, "No, Brad. I have to go. Please let me through."

Brad didn't budge. His eyes didn't look friendly anymore …

"Why are you being such a bitch?"

"Wh … what!" Angelica reacted as though he'd slapped her in the face. "That was uncalled for, how dare you call me that!"

"I've paid attention to you all night, listened to you talk … "

_Listened to YOU talk is more like it_ Angelica thought absentmindedly.

" … and now all I want you to do is try some wine!"

Suspicious, Angelica's eyes flicked to the Merlot he was holding and it all fell in to place. Glaring at him, she said in a steely voice that could cut glass: "what's in it?"

"What do you mean what's in it? It's wine! The list of ingredients are on the bottle downstairs if you want to go read them." Brad was trying to joke, but the flush in his cheeks gave him away.

"You put something in the wine, didn't you?"

They didn't say anything else from then on, and Angelica knew what was about to happen. In the few moments she had to think, she wondered what she should do. There was no way out except through the door Brad was standing in. Should she fight him? Was she strong enough? Maybe she could distract him somehow and make a run for the door? Would anyone downstairs hear her if she called out? The music was so loud …

In fact, the music was _so_ loud neither Angelica nor Brad heard the unceremonious entrance of the party's gatecrashers.

"BOMBS AWAY!" yelled Phil, charging through the front door brandishing two smoke canisters.

Onlookers were baffled – especially a very tipsy Monet Mulford, who was drinking and talking to a group of Brad's buddies nearby.

"It's the green guy from the road!" she said in awe.

Before anyone could react further, Phil pulled the pins on the smoke canisters and threw them into the crowd. Then, with cat-like reflexes, he removed two more canisters from his belt, pulled the pins and launched them as well. Now the entire bottom floor was up in blinding, grey smoke. Some people were screaming, some were swearing … some were even laughing, obviously drunk. But most were coughing.

Chuckie ran in behind Phil, wheezing.

"Eh, this stuff smells weird. Thanks for creating a diversion. I'm going upstairs!"

Phil nodded resolutely – a true soldier in combat. "Good man, Spidermonkey. I'll watch your back!"

Without a moment to lose, Chuckie pressed his way through the mass of befuddled party-goers and hurled himself up the stairs to the top floor.

Angelica was in dire need of rescuing … or was she?

Brad had pounced. Angelica screamed for help, but nobody heard. They landed on the bed, wrestling. Angelica wasn't one to give in so easy ...

"BASTARD!" she cried, managing to knee him – hard – right in the groin.

Brad fell off bed with a thump, gulping for breath. Angelica stood, victorious, and was about to leave when –

"AAAAHHHH!"

A crazed person with a green face flew into the room, sounding off a vicious war cry. He propelled himself onto the already injured Brad Pittman, strewn on the floor and holding his groin in agony.

"What the hell … ?" gasped Angelica, unable to finish the sentence. Who in the world was this mysterious stranger? When at last he spoke, she knew immediately.

"You come near her again, and I KILL YOU!" Chuckie bellowed, aiming a punch right for Brad Pittman's nose. Brad cried out in pain … and so did Chuckie.

"Agh, my hand!" Chuckie yelped. "That really stings!"

Taking charge, Angelica grabbed Chuckie under the armpit and pulled him up.

"C'mon," she said, giving Brad one last disgusted look. "Let's get out of here."

Without another word, Chuckie and Angelica fled down the stairs back to the bottom floor. Things were still up in smoke. Chuckie called out for his partner in crime.

"WINGMAN! WINGMAN WHERE ARE YOU?"

"I'm here!"

Phil emerged from the smoke, with what appeared to be an unconscious Monet Mulford flopped over his shoulder.

"Oh my god!" said Angelica, horrified. "What happened to Monet?"

"I accidentally threw one of the smoke canisters at her head," said Phil defensively. "She passed out. I couldn't just leave her!"

"Trust you to discover chivalry at a time like this!" coughed Chuckie, still affected by the smoke.

"It's not like I wanted to be chivalrous!" complained Phil, also coughing. "I would've preferred to go steal some of those jello shots!"

"So bring her already!" Angelica cut in, impatient and grabbing Chuckie's arm again. "We don't have time to argue."

Angelica, Chuckie, Phil and the unconscious Monet ditched the party unnoticed. Chuckie guided them all back to his dad's car. He and Angelica still hadn't spoken to eachother. Phil was having problems with Monet from behind.

"This chick's getting heavy!"

"You brought her, you carry her," said Chuckie, unsympathetic.

They arrived at the car. Chuckie got into the driver's seat while Angelica helped Phil slide Monet into the back. Phil got in beside her, propping her against his shoulder and securing her seatbelt. Angelica hopped in the front beside Chuckie. Chuckie revved the engine, backed up and drove in the opposite direction of Lakeside Drive.

And _still _they did not talk. It was impossible to know what Angelica and Chuckie were feeling as the car sped down the highway. Anger? Resentment? Sadness? Their faces didn't give them away. Both seemed determined not to acknowledge the other. Phil, sitting in the middle, kept looking expectantly at the backs of their heads. After five minutes of waiting for someone to break the silence, he decided to take a stab at it himself.

"So! Anyone up for a number plate game?"

"We need to stop at a gas station," said Chuckie mechanically, swerving into an exit on the left.

"At least somebody's talking … " mumbled Phil, rolling his eyes.

The blaring lights of a gas station shone before them. Chuckie parked the car at a gas tank, took off his helmet and stepped out. Angelica didn't move, except to turn around to Phil.

"How's Monet?"

"Passed out as ever," said Phil, gesturing to Monet slumped against his side. Her long blonde hair was draped across her face.

Phil couldn't contain himself any longer. He proceeded to ask Angelica a series of questions: "Angelica, aren't you wondering what we're doing here? How we found you? Why our faces are green? And why – "

"Yes," said Angelica calmly, now watching Chuckie wash the front window. He could also be seen trying to wipe his green face clean with a spare handkerchief he'd found in his dad's car. "I'm very curious about all these things."

She didn't say anymore. Phil went to speak again but was lost at what to say next. It didn't matter. As Chuckie walked to the store to pay, Angelica jumped out and followed him.

They met at the cash register. The store was empty, except for the guy serving them. He looked ready to fall asleep … until he got an eyeful of Chuckie.

"How much?" Chuckie asked.

"Forty," he said in response, smirking. Chuckie's face was still smudged with green in places. "Is there a military base around here I don't know about?"

Chuckie shook his head. As he fished for his wallet in his pants, Angelica retrieved fifty dollars from her purse and beat him to it.

"You don't have to do that," said Chuckie, finally making contact.

"Oh no?" said Angelica sarcastically, eyebrows raised. "Don't you think you deserve some compensation after tonight?"

"I went to that party to save you!"

"And _how_ did you know I was going to be in trouble?"

"I – !" Chuckie cut himself off. "It's a long story."

Angelica shook her head. "I can't believe you. What were you and Phil doing, spying on me all night? And what's with the 'Rambo' getup!"

"Like I said, I went there to help you Angelica! I found out Brad was trouble and I wanted to help! The army thing was Phil's idea."

"So you're saying you _knew_ I'd be in trouble and you didn't just go to the party tonight to crash it and piss me off?"

"What? No! I told you I … " Chuckie trailed off. "You know what, forget it! I'm the one who should be angry. Considering the way you treated me this week!"

On that note, Chuckie stormed out. The guy at the register, who'd been listening intently to Chuckie and Angelica's argument, handed Angelica her change. She then stormed out after Chuckie, yelling at him.

"Hey! Stop RIGHT there, Finster!"

Chuckie huffed and turned around.

"What?"

"I'm … I'm not angry!"

"I am."

"WAIT! Don't turn away! Listen for a minute."

Huffing again, Chuckie turned back to face her.

Rubbing her shoulders a moment, Angelica continued. "You don't know how hard it is for me, being popular. You're not friends with the same kind of people I'm friends with. You don't understand the pressure that they can put on you!"

Chuckie laughed sardonically. "I don't understand pressure, Angelica? Well f--k you! F--k … "

He felt the tears well up, but held them back. He didn't want to swear at her, but it had come out on its own accord.

Angelica cried. Chuckie instantly changed his tune.

"Oh, Angelica. I'm sorry! I didn't mean – "

"No I deserved that," she sniffed, wiping an eye and rubbing her mascara again. "I'm conceited! I'm a bitch! I know."

"If you don't like your friends then _why_ do you hang out with them? You're a strong girl Angelica, but you let Savannah walk all over you. I'm sick of watching it! Watching you at a party you've gone on about for weeks, and then see you hide in the bathroom crying or watching ducks swim by wishing you were with someone else!"

Angelica stared at him, stunned. Embarrassed, Chuckie diverted his attention to the ground, as if something interesting had suddenly appeared on the cement at his feet. His hands went to his pockets, arms stiff as boards. "Or … you know. That was just an interpretation I had," he murmured. "It could be wrong."

Maintaining his focus on the ground, he caught his breath as two feet wearing red sandals walked to stop in front of his trainers. He looked up to Angelica's face, now inches from his own.

"See right through me, don't you Finster?" she said in a soft voice.

Daringly, the hand Chuckie used to punch Brad's nose surfaced from his pocket to find her hair. He ran his fingers through it; hardly believing he was allowed. Angelica closed her eyes, and parted her mouth.

Chuckie was afraid ... but he went that extra inch. He touched his lips against hers and finally knew what it was like to kiss Angelica Pickles.

**

* * *

OMG new chapter! I hope you guys like it. The "you're not friends with the same kind of people I'm friends with" and the "f--k you" lines are direct quotes from the Breakfast Club. Good movie, if you haven't seen it I recommend it. The rest is mine ;)**


	9. Chapter Nine

_The last kiss goodnight?_

* * *

Chuckie and Angelica began walking back to the car, halting as they caught sight of Phil.

He'd seen everything. His astounded, green face was pasted against the front window; giving him the appearance of a large insect hanging to the glass for dear life.

Angelica murmured to Chuckie, "is he all right?"

Chuckie answered simply, "it's been a rough day for him. Too many stale potato chips."

They continued walking, opening the car doors and stepping inside. Phil promptly peeled himself from the glass and climbed to the backseat with Monet. Chuckie turned the key in the ignition, backed the car up and drove to the highway. Back home.

Again, nobody talked. Phil was having a silent aneurysm. He had witnessed the unthinkable! The _unimaginable_! Chuckie and Angelica had kissed right before his eyes! Somebody say something!

"Isn't anybody going to at least – "

"Shut up, Phil!" Chuckie and Angelica quickly said together.

"But – "

"Phil!" Chuckie said more loudly, quickly giving his friend a scolding look. Phil crossed his arms in defeat.

"Fine, be that way! But I'd strongly advise, if you people plan to take this any further, you work on your communication skills! And FYI Angelica, you've got green face paint on your lips."

"Ah crap," said Angelica, pulling a pocket sized mirror and tissue from her purse. Chuckie quickly looked her way, grinning. She caught his eye, smiling despite herself.

"Keep your attention on the road, Finster."

Phil proceeded to mope behind them, loathing the silence. Just as he made a very obvious and bored sigh, Monet – who still hadn't regained consciousness, and who'd been leaning against Phil's shoulder all the while – suddenly slipped forward and landed in his lap. Face first. Phil tensed up, frozen.

"Oh gosh … " he murmured, squeamish. "It's just like that dream!"

"PHIL!" Angelica yelled, catching sight of them in the review mirror.

"It was an accident, she slipped!" Phil pleaded immediately.

"Then _move_ her! Sit her back up!" Angelica demanded.

The drive home seemed so much shorter then the drive over. Both Chuckie and Angelica had been deep in thought the whole way – hence the 'not talking'. Phil was plenty tired, ready to lose consciousness at any moment like Monet.

"Her house is after this block," Angelica guided Chuckie, directing him to Monet's house. They figured they better drop her off first. "There it is! Pull up."

Chuckie parked at the curb. He and Angelica then turned to Phil and Monet: they were sleeping against eachother, Phil snoring occasionally.

"Lord," said Angelica, smirking. "If Monet saw a picture of this ... "

"You got a camera in your mobile, right?" said Chuckie, catching Angelica's smirk.

"Chuckie, you sick mind! My battery's dead anyway."

"So you were thinking the same thing?"

"Maybe."

"Sick minds think alike."

They woke Phil up. He didn't appreciate it, moaning and complaining. With a lot of effort they managed to get him out of the car. Chuckie then went for Monet, putting his arms under her armpits and attempted to drag her from the car … just as she began to come too.

"Hey, Angelica! I think Monet's finally waking up."

"It's about time!" said Angelica, going to help Chuckie recover her from the car, and then helping to stand her up.

Monet wasn't exactly steady on her feet. She swayed in different directions, threatening to plummet a number of times. Chuckie and Angelica made sure she stayed put.

"You think she needs a doctor?" Chuckie wondered.

"Nah," said Angelica offhandedly. "She's just drunk. I've seen her worse."

"Worse?" said Chuckie in disbelief. Though Monet was undeniably beautiful, she looked like they'd just extricated her from a ditch.

"Monet?" Angelica spoke to her friend, pulling her hair back so she could see into her eyes. "Monet it's me, Angie. Can you hear me?"

"Angelicaaa!" Monet slurred in recognition, sounding happy enough. "Where are we? Where's the party?"

She peered round her, curious.

"Party's over, Monet. C'mon, I'll take you home."

Angelica put an arm around her friend, helping her walk. But then Monet saw _him_: leaning on the other side of the car, looking ready to fall asleep.

"The green guy!" she said, her voice sounding clearer then before. "He was at the party, I saw him!"

Phil immediately perked up. "Er, yeah," he said, rubbing the back of his head shyly as she stared at him. "Sorry about hitting you on the head and all."

"The green boy saved your life!" Angelica said to Monet comically, winking at Phil.

"He saved my life? Really?" Monet was confused but astonished none the less.

Phil chuckled. "Well, that might be going a bit _too_ far – "

"Oh, green guy! My hero!"

Overcome with emotions she didn't quite understand, Monet lunged from Angelica and landed against Phil, kissing the hormones out of him.

"_Monet_!" Angelica cried, breathless

"Oh my god … " said Chuckie from behind them, stunned but very amused. "I so wish your mobile battery wasn't dead!"

Angelica was appalled. "Phil, stop kissing her! She doesn't know what she's doing!"

Phil mumbled something indecipherable, showing no signs of slowing up. He'd blissfully wrapped his arms around Monet's waist and lifted her half up off the ground.

"Chuckie, do something!"

"I am, I'm laughing!" said Chuckie, doing exactly that.

Monet surfaced her face from Phil's, her lips and chin coated in green face paint – much worse off then Angelica had been. "Gotta go, green guy. I gotta go home now."

"Yes you do!" said Angelica, sounding like a mom and snatching Monet's arm.

"Bye!" Monet said to Phil, being dragged away by Angelica. Phil tried to work the muscles in his mouth to respond, but couldn't muster it. As Angelica and Monet walked off into the distance towards Monet's house, Phil crashed to the floor. Chuckie rushed to his aid.

"Phil, speak to me! How many fingers am I holding up?"

Phil lay motionless on the road beside the car, eyes glazed over and smiling like a cheshire cat.

"She kissed me, Chuck … Monet Mulford kissed me!"

"I know, I saw," said Chuckie, unable to hold back a smile.

"She's … she's _wonderful_!"

"I'll bet. That's enough lying around, Romeo. Stand up, c'mon!"

With a groan of effort, Chuckie lifted Phil up off the road and helped him back in the car.

"Monet … Monet Mulford!" Phil kept repeating nonsensically, gazing to the sky. "_Monet Mulford_!"

"I know already!"

Shortly after, Angelica returned to the car and they set off for home again. Phil's house was the first stop. Chuckie escorted Phil to the front door, helping him carry the army kit.

"You sure your parents won't be mad at you for coming home so late? It's nearly four o'clock in the morning!"

"I told them I was staying at yours, didn't I?" said Phil logically, pulling his key chain from his pocket. "Besides, I'll creep in. They won't even notice. They sleep like rocks."

After finding the right key, Phil carefully unlocked the door. His house was pitch black inside.

"So, Chuckie. My man!" Phil shook his friend's hand. "A successful mission if I do so say so myself."

"Yeah," said Chuckie sheepishly, peering back at Angelica sitting in the car.

"Ah, I was referring to how I got to swap tonsils with the hottest girl in school," Phil cut in sarcastically, deterring Chuckie's attention. Chuckie laughed.

"Thanks, Phil. For coming with me tonight. You're a good friend."

"No sweat, dude! You're not about to get mushy on me, are ya?"

"Nah. Not in these outfits."

"Good. I was getting worried there ..."

They said their goodnights, and went their separate ways.

* * *

He pulled up outside her house.

"We're here," Chuckie announced.

"Walk me to my door?" Angelica asked.

Chuckie nodded, turning off the engine.

They walked, soon reaching Angelica's front door ... coming to stand face to face under the porch light. End of the road.

Chuckie noticed Angelica was sad, similar to how she was at the party when she was watching the ducks on the lake. He hoped anxiously she wasn't regretting kissing him at the gas station ... that she wasn't about to tell him she'd made a terrible mistake. These thoughts had been haunting him the whole journey back home.

"We have a lot to discuss," said Angelica, her voice cracking the long running silence between them.

"Yeah, we do," Chuckie agreed, looking at his feet.

"Do you mind if we save it? Can you just kiss me again and say goodnight?"

Chuckie's head sprung up, shocked. Angelica wrapped her arms around Chuckie's neck and leaned into him, taking his breath away.

They kissed, more passionately then they had at the gas station. There were tears in Angelica's eyes.

"Angelica," Chuckie whispered, parting lips with her but holding onto her waist. "Angelica, what's wrong?"

"Chuckie, just say goodnight to me. Okay?"

Maybe she was only upset over what had almost happened between her and Brad? But still … he couldn't shake the feeling she was kissing him goodbye. For good. His fingers pressed into her waist.

"Angelica, are you sure … "

"Chuckie, please! Say goodnight."

He didn't want to take his hands off her … but he did what she asked. "Goodnight, Angelica."

"Goodnight," she said in return, kissing him one last time before leaving his arms and entering her house.

**

* * *

This was short, but necessary to follow up the last chapter. Looking forward**** to seeing what you guys think!**


	10. Chapter Ten

_Aftermath._

* * *

"_You guys_ were the ones who crashed Brad Pittman's party?"

"Phil kissed Monet Mulford? Our friend Phillip De Ville and _the_ Monet Mulford!"

Still gathered together in Tommy's bedroom, Tommy and Dil had had a lot to absorb in the last half-hour: from army-style gatecrashing, to Chuckie and Angelica kissing, and – to Dil's persistent and unquenchable shock – Phil and Monet Mulford kissing. They had no idea Chuckie's story of how he and Angelica came together was going to be so … complex!

"Phil and Monet Mulford?" Dil repeated again, getting on Chuckie's last nerve.

"YES! And I wouldn't call what they were doing kissing. More like sucking eachother's faces off … "

Tommy laughed. Dil was only further impressed.

"Phillip De Ville is my new hero. I worship Phil!"

"What about Buddha?"

"Buddha too."

"Wow, Dil," said Tommy, amused. "I didn't know you had it so hard for Monet Mulford."

"Oh Thomas, _please_!" said Dil, in a tone that suggested his older brother was being perfectly ridiculous. "I am but one of many males at our school who feels this way. Monet Mulford is la crème de la crème. The height of the girl food chain! And to think," he shed a fake tear, "one of our own, Phillip De Ville, crossed the line everyone else feared to tread. I'm so proud!"

Tommy rolled his eyes. "Monet's hot, but I don't know." He shrugged. "She doesn't do it for me."

"Spoken like a man who has been truly whipped by his girlfriend," Dil sniggered. "So come on, Chuckie! What happened next?"

* * *

"_Sunday morni__ng, eleven-thirty. I sat up in bed – a zombie. Had Saturday night been some crazy dream? It was one huge blur … "_

Chuckie sleep-walked to the kitchen in a t-shirt and pyjama bottoms, where his family were eating a late breakfast around the table. Kimi was there, back from Phil and Lil's place. Chazz and Kira were very 'up'. Positively radiant.

"Chuck!" Chazz welcomed his son. "Have a seat. We saved you some bacon and eggs in case you woke up."

Chuckie sat across from Kimi, who smirked at him. "Mom and Dad went to a club last night. Can you believe it?"

"What?" said Chuckie, bemused.

"We danced the _whole_ night!" said Kira happily, making lovey-dovey eyes with her husband. "And we didn't get home until about five o'clock this morning."

"I've never felt so young!" added Chazz.

"It's beyond the normal humane levels of humiliation!" said Kimi, buttering her toast with load scrapes. "I mean, _we're_ not even old enough to go to clubs yet." She indicated to herself and Chuckie. "Our parents hitting the scene before we do? It's like you guys are embarrassing us in advance!"

"Kimi sweetie, stop being dramatic," said Kira. "More orange juice?"

"Sure, why not," said Kimi, handing over her glass. "So what did you and Phil do last night, Chuck?"

The question caused Chuckie to retch on a bit of egg – but only slightly. No cause for alarm! He swallowed it down with some of the orange juice Kira had served him.

"I would've asked Phil himself," Kimi went on, "but he was asleep when me and Lil woke up earlier. Knowing how he likes to sleep-in, he probably won't surface back to life 'til about five o'clock this afternoon."

"We, er – " Chuckie cleared his throat. "We went to arcade most of the time. Nothing eventful … "

_Nothing eventful_. Not unless you counted the fact Chuckie had stolen his dad's car, ambushed Brad Pittman's party and kissed Angelica! _I kissed Angelica. Oh god, I kissed Angelica! She kissed me!_

"Chuck? You okay?"

Kimi and his parents were staring at him, concerned. Chuckie figured he must've looked like he was about to be sick. It wasn't completely out of the question …

"I'm fine!" he said breathlessly, stomach gurgling. "I'm gonna go back to my room for a while. I'm still tired. "

With that, Chuckie gulped the remains of the orange juice and scurried back to his room out of sight. Once there, he crash-landed onto his bed. He should really eat something, he thought vaguely. He would, if only his stomach didn't feel like a tight little ball of post-Saturday night nerves. Thank goodness his mom and dad had chosen last night to discover clubbing. For all they knew, he and Phil had been at the arcade 'til all hours …

He was growing more and more nauseous. Last night, the moment just after Angelica kissed him goodbye in front of her house, he wondered if it was seriously _goodbye_. Like 'goodbye-goodbye'. His tummy gurgled again, noisily, and he groaned.

_Maybe it's for the __best we don't see eachother? _he thought, not really meaning it. _It's too much drama being in love with Angelica Pickles!_

'DING DONG!' went the doorbell.

"That's not her," Chuckie said to himself, but then he heard the muffled sound of what was indisputably the distant voice of Angelica Pickles. So much for the 'goodbye-goodbye' theory … unless she'd come over to seal the deal? To make sure the message had sunk in?

Chuckie didn't have much time before Angelica would reach his bedroom door. He quickly got up off the bed, surveying his reflection in the mirror above his dresser. To say he had 'bed hair' was an understatement.

_Excellent. My head looks like a flayed carrot top! __No time to worry about that now I guess … _

'Knock knock' at the door. "Chuckie," said Kimi from the other side. "Angelica's here to see you. Can she come in?"

"Yeah, send her in," said Chuckie, keeping his voice as level and as cool as possible.

Angelica entered Chuckie's bedroom, shutting the door behind her. No make-up, hair in a ponytail, aqua trackpants and a yellow t-shirt. Chuckie much preferred 'casual' Angelica. She was more beautiful this way …

_Why don't stomachs come with volume control!_ Chuckie thought feebly, trying to conceal the incessant gurgling with his hand. Luckily Angelica's attention had gone to his hair.

"There's a raging bonfire on your head. Did you know?"

"Is that what you came to tell me?"

Angelica furrowed her brow. "What's with the attitude?"

"Nothing," said Chuckie apologetically, shaking his head. "Nothing, it's just ... I wasn't expecting to see you today. I kind of imagined that if you _did_ come over, it'd be to tell me that what happened between us last night was a big, regrettable mistake."

A nervous laugh followed the end of this sentence … as did an uncomfortable pause. Chuckie had hoped Angelica would've laughed along with him, but she did not. She looked worried – so then _he_ worried.

"Ah, Angelica?" Chuckie prompted, a bite to his tone. "This would be the part where you assure me I'm being an idiot and that of course you didn't come over to tell me that. Right?"

And still she looked worried. Thinking his fears had been answered, Chuckie was about to yell at her when she suddenly cried in anguish, "Oh, Chuckie! Isn't this awful?"

"What? You mean my hair or the whole situation?"

"_Everything_! I mean, we were romantic last night. Romantic, us! And we _kissed_!"

_Again: why don't stomachs come with volume control!_

"Didn't you wake up this morning feeling like you wanted to vomit?" Angelica asked him.

"Hey!" Chuckie retaliated. "I hope you're talking about Brad and not about kissing me!"

"Oh, be real Finster. Iceland could hear the sounds being emitted from your stomach right now! Admit it, it made you feel sick too."

"That's just …'cause the whole thing's a shock! It's not our normal mode of behaviour."

"No, it's really not."

Angelica sat on Chuckie's bed, Chuckie then sitting beside her.

"I won't lie to you, Chuckie," said Angelica. "A large part of me believed what went down between us last night _was _a mistake, and that I should end it."

Chuckie's jaw clenched. Fortunately Angelica kept talking …

"But a bigger part of me can't forget everything you've done. When I think about you saving my bracelet, and what almost happened with me and Brad … all the icky romantic feelings set in again."

"So," Chuckie began tentatively, "are you saying the idea of us is too icky, or it's … icky and okay?"

Angelica smiled at him, and nudged him playfully with her elbow. "Icky and okay."

"Oh!" Chuckie sighed. "Oh, well that's good then. That's good … "

"It's a big adjustment. Seeing you in a new light, and all. As opposed to seeing you as my one of my girlfriends?"

Chuckie laughed. "Yeah, right. I remember that line."

They faced eachother. Even though Chuckie wouldn't have minded to kiss her again, he was worried he might barf all over her like Stan from _South Park_. Plus he hadn't brushed his teeth since yesterday. Angelica seemed to read his thoughts, and leaned in for a hug instead.

Enter Kimi …

"Chuck, mom wants to know if you and Angelica want some banana smoothie – WO!"

"KIMI!"

In the next instant, Chuckie had his sister by the upper arm and was ushering her out of the room.

"'Knocking', Kimi? As in 'to knock'? HOW many times do I have to tell you not walk into my room like that unannounced!"

"You and Angelica were _hugging_!" Kimi exclaimed in amazement.

"Yes, I know but – "

"Is she drugged?"

"Nobody's drugged anybody!" said Chuckie, raising his voice.

"Well _s-orry_! What crawled up your behind and camped for the night?"

"Just go! I need to talk to Angelica in private."

"Didn't look like there was much talking going on from where I was standing … "

"GO!"

Kimi left, amused but bewildered. The thought that perhaps her brother and Angelica Pickles had fallen for eachother was – at this stage – too insane an idea to comprehend.

Chuckie returned to Angelica, who was up standing with her arms crossed.

"Do you think she suspects anything?"

"Nah," said Chuckie, waving it off. "If we can hardly believe what we're doing, there's not much hope for everyone else."

"That's the other thing I wanted to talk to you about, Chuckie. The 'everyone else' knowing thing? Do you think we could keep it, you know, a secret? For this week at least?"

"Still ashamed to be seen with me, huh?" said Chuckie, half-joking.

"I'm going to tell Savannah and the others eventually. I promise. But don't you think it'd be better this way? Keeping it hidden? We can adjust to it first and then everyone else can catch up."

Even Chuckie had to admit the prospect of telling his family and the gang that Angelica was his new girlfriend was a bit daunting. Not to mention the whole school. _Angelica's my girlfriend_ he thought in disbelief. Wonderful, elated, stomach wrenching disbelief.

"I'll see you Monday?" she said before leaving. Chuckie nodded to her, the words _Angelica's my girlfriend_ still dancing merrily in his mind. She kissed him quickly on the mouth, dizzying him, and left.

Chuckie spent much of the remainder of the day catching up on sleep. He also managed to squeeze in a phone call to Phil later that afternoon.

"So, are you guys on or what?" Phil questioned him.

"We're … on," said Chuckie, smiling as he said it. Phil whooped from the other line.

"Glad to hear it, buddy! After everything you went through for that girl."

"But you can't tell anyone, Phil!" Chuckie added hastily. "We're keeping it a secret for a week."

"Oooo, forbidden lurve," cooed Phil. "I like it, it's poetic. I'm in! Nobody will hear a word from me, Spidermonkey. So was last night fun or was last night _fun_? I think we should gatecrash professionally! Start a business ... "

"I'm still recovering, thanks very much," said Chuckie jadedly. "How are you doing? Still high from kissing Monet Mulford?"

"Like you need to ask! It's my new happy place. I'm prancing and singing around the house like a complete loser! Lil thinks I'm auditioning for a Disney film."

Chuckie laughed. "So you opted not tell anyone about it?"

"As if anyone would believe me if I did. No, I'm afraid it'll have to remain my dirty little secret! It'll entertain me through Math, at least."

As the night drew near, and Sunday was almost over with, Chuckie was still packing some nerves. Did Angelica really mean what she said? Was she really going to give him a shot? Thanks to years of tormenting and teasing on her part, Chuckie was always expecting Angelica to pull a fast one on him. To suddenly change her tune …

"Guess there's no turning back now," he said to himself, while lying in bed.

_Until Monday. _


	11. Chapter Eleven

_And then came some very sad news …_

_

* * *

__"Ano__ther day, another Monday. I stepped off the bus – as usual. I walked into the school building – as usual. Still … not everything was so 'usual' … "_

Chuckie was met with the familiar sight of students hanging around their lockers; unpacking their things, catching up on what they did on the weekend … Dil flying past them all on his scooter – today sporting a seventies-style afro wig with Vice-Principal Pangborn and the hall monitor in hot pursuit.

Heading over to his own locker, Chuckie met up with Tommy, who was talking with Phil.

"Hey Chuckie!" said Tommy brightly.

"Hey Chuck," said Phil, slipping Chuckie a sly wink that Tommy failed to see.

"Hey guys," said Chuckie, opening his locker door. "How's the latest film production coming along, Tommy?"

"It's all right. I spent the entire weekend editing and I'm still no where near finished! But it's coming together. What did you guys get up too?" He looked from Chuckie to Phil. Phil played it cool, leaning against the lockers on his elbow.

"Oh, you know … chillin'. Hangin'. Nuthin' worth mentioning. Right, Chuck?"

"Yuh huh," Chuckie answered quickly. "Nothing worth … mentioning."

It was at that moment Chuckie caught sight of Angelica, coming down the other end of the hallway. It was the usual scenario – except Savannah Shane was no where to be seen. Angelica strutted down the hall with Christy Grabelski and Monet Mulford at both her sides. Chuckie stared at her as she drew near, holding his breath. Expecting out of habit to be ignored …

But she did not ignore him. This time she looked Chuckie directly in the eyes, smiled, and said: "hey."

It was short. It was brief. But it was _spectacular_! For the first time in history Angelica had acknowledged Chuckie while in the presence of her prissy 'Brat Pack'. Phil had been watching Angelica and the others walk by as well, his attention firmly on Monet.

"Good morning, ladies," he said smoothly, looking up through his eyebrows. Monet was put off, and yet slightly intrigued. Did she know that guy from some place?

Once the girls were gone, Tommy said to Phil: "what are you doing?"

"Bidding the womenfolk good morning," Phil replied innocently.

"You mean bidding _Monet Mulford_ good morning," Tommy corrected him with a snigger. "Dream on, buddy! She didn't seem too interested."

"Oh _no_?" said Phil, challenged.

"Oh boy … " groaned Chuckie, out of earshot.

"She seemed pretty interested the other night. When I was _kissing_ her."

"Say what?" said Tommy, alarmed.

"Nuthin'!" said Phil, back to being cool. "I better go. Got Math. Later!"

Phil departed, with a skip in his step. Tommy turned to Chuckie.

"What was that all about?"

"No idea," said Chuckie, concealing a smile.

* * *

_"It was at lunchtime that I heard _that_ news ... "_

"Oh my gosh! Did you guys hear?"

Chuckie, Tommy and Phil were sitting together in the lunchroom when Kimi and Lil hurried over to them, holding trays. Kimi sat next to Phil, and Lil next to Tommy on the other side.

"What's going on?" said Tommy, who obviously hadn't heard a thing.

"It's about Brad Pittman," said Lil candidly, after which Chuckie and Phil's ears immediately perked up.

"_Everbody's_ talking about it," added Kimi. "I can't believe you guys haven't heard yet!"

"So tell us already!" urged Tommy, just as a wigless Dil joined them.

"Hey, have you guys heard?"

"No!" said Tommy, Chuckie and Phil together automatically, each failing to notice how unusually sombre Dil appeared …

"Brad and some of his entourage were arrested early Sunday morning, after that party," Kimi informed them.

"_What_!" cried Chuckie and Phil, exchanging meaningful glances.

"What were they arrested for?" Tommy enquired.

"Drugs," said Lil bluntly. "The police raided his home."

Tommy let out a low whistle. "Man … "

"Yeah, but that's not the only thing that supposedly happened," Lil continued. "Some of the seniors are claiming that before the police showed up, these guys in army outfits crashed the party and let off smoke bombs. How crazy is that?"

Again, Chuckie and Phil exchanged meaningful glances.

"Sounds pretty wicked to me," said a smirky Phil. "Wish I'd thought of it!"

"You _would _think of something like that," remarked Kimi sharply.

"Yeah ... but that's why you love me, right?" he said back to her, wiggling his eyebrows. Kimi looked disgusted.

"Keep dreaming, Phil!"

"_You_ keep dreaming!"

"There's something else," Dil spoke up at last, finally gaining everyone's attention.

He was still being uncharacteristically grave, making the rest of them uneasy. What could possibly be so wrong that it would bring somebody like Dil down?

"I only heard it before," Dil went on. "The police raided Brad's home because they got a call from a girl at the party. She told them Brad and his friends had raped her."

Everybody gasped in horror.

"Oh my god!"

"Oh my gosh … "

There was a stony silence … and then Chuckie said: "Are you sure, Dil? I mean … who told you that?"

"Angelica," Dil answered simply. "I saw her in the halls just before lunch. She seemed real upset, so I asked her what was up and … well, yeah."

"Who was the girl?" said Lil in a croaky voice.

"Dunno," said Dil with a shrug. "Nobody's sure."

Chuckie rose from his seat, grabbing his bag along the way. Kimi looked up at him.

"Chuckie, where are you going?"

"I've gotta go," he said in a hurry, without looking at anyone. "I'll see you guys later."

It was clear what he had to do: Chuckie had to find Angelica.

His eyes grazed the other half of the lunchroom, but she wasn't at her usual table so he went out into the halls to see if she was still there. No luck, but he did see –

"Hey, Savannah!"

Desperate times call for desperate measures. There was no way in hell Chuckie would ever attempt to exchange words with Savannah Shane – unless it was an emergency. Which it was.

"Do you know where Angelica is?"

Even though Chuckie was significantly taller then Savannah, he couldn't escape the sensation he was being looked down upon. He was so sure she was about to turn on her heel and pretend he hadn't even spoken to her, when she said: "Angelica went home."

"Home?"

"Yes. Home."

And with that she turned from him and walked away … but no matter. Chuckie had all the information he needed. Continuing the reckless streak he'd started with Phil – which had begun from the moment he'd heard Brad Pittman's plans for Angelica – he ran out of the school.

* * *

Half-an-hour later, Chuckie was standing at the front door to Angelica's house. He was a bit out of breath, seeing as he'd part jogged, part power walked the entire way. Ringing the doorbell, he expected Drew or Charlotte to answer. He figured one of them might've picked Angelica up from school …

But it was Angelica who opened the door, her face stained with tears. She took one look at Chuckie and brokedown.

"_Chuckie_!" she sobbed, throwing her arms around him.

They went upstairs to her bedroom, but not before Chuckie made a detour to the kitchen to fetch Angelica a much needed glass of water.

"There you go," he said, passing it to her and sitting next to her on her bed.

"Thanks," she said softly, taking a sip. She'd calmed down. "I'm sorry," she said to Chuckie, glancing at him with bloodshot eyes. "That was way 'emo' of me."

"It's okay," said Chuckie, who – truth be told – was a little rattled. The sight of Angelica sobbing uncontrollably had made him feel incredibly helpless … and somewhat teary himself.

"It's just," Angelica said after a moment, her voice cracking, "I keep thinking it could've been me. You know?"

Chuckie put his arm around her. "I know."

"I mean, if I hadn't … if _you_ hadn't … "

They looked at eachother.

"Well," said Chuckie humbly, "you were the one who kneed him in the balls. Even if I hadn't showed – "

"That was a lucky shot, Chuckie," Angelica said over him. "It could've easily gone either way. Brad must've gone after her … whoever the girl was, after we all left."

Angelica's eyes welled with tears again. She took another sip of water.

"I feel sick."

"Me too," said Chuckie. "So … you don't know who the girl was, then?"

Angelica shook her head 'no', and changed the subject. "How did you know I was at home?"

"Savannah told me. Reluctantly, I might add," said Chuckie, to which Angelica suddenly became angry.

"Savannah!" she scolded. "How did _she _know?"

"She's your friend … isn't she?"

Angelica snorted. "We had a massive fight on Sunday. She said I've injured the group's street-cred for flaking out on Brad, and that I'm turning Christy and Monet against her. Blah blah blah, stupid moron! I bet she's biting her tongue now she knows Brad's been arrested for drugs and sexual abuse … "

"You're better off without her," Chuckie said reassuringly, who suddenly realised something else. "Where's your mom and dad?"

"At work. Where else would they be?"

"Oh! I just thought one of them must've taken you home from school."

Angelica snorted again. "Yeah right! Mom and dad taking time off their precious jobs to come pick me up. I got a cab ride home. And speaking off which," she looked at Chuckie shrewdly, "Chuckie Finster, is it possible you've skipped school to be here with me?"

Smiling bashfully, Chuckie said, "I had to see if you were okay. I kind of left without thinking … which isn't _usually_ like me. But then again, I'm not doing much stuff these days that _is_ usually like me. Since I fell in love with you I hardly recognise myself."

His words brought fresh tears to her eyes. "You … you fell in love with me? When?"

"When you told me I had that rare disease, remember?" Chuckie joked. "The one where I was going to change into a rhinoceros?"

Angelica laughed, and wiped away a tear. "You mean when we were like, toddlers?"

"Yeah! I figured it must be love. Or nausea, brought on by the fear of a horn growing out of my forehead."

She laughed some more, wiping her face again. Chuckie took a loose strand of her blonde hair, touching it with his fingers. Feeling a sudden surge bravery, due to the fact his declaration of love was met with a warm reception, Chuckie kissed Angelica on the mouth.

Within the next ten minutes, they'd fallen back on the bed. They stayed that way, until Chuckie had to make his escape – before Angelica's parents arrived home and the secret was out. Clearly, it was too good a secret to give up just yet.

* * *

**This isn't the end, there's still more story to come. I'd just like to say that, even though the character Brad Pittman shares a name similar to that of Brad Pitt, he is in no way based on the actor. It was a just a name I came up with in the beginning, before knowing where the story would go. If I'd known I probably would've given him a different name …**


	12. Chapter Twelve

_Susie told Lil, who told Dil ... no wait, who told Kimi! Who then told Dil, who told ... ah, screw it!_

* * *

"Who was the girl in the end?" Tommy asked the others, standing beside his bedroom window.

"Hayley Clencie," Dil answered, sitting with Chuckie on the bed. "She's a friend of Susie's."

The boys were quiet a moment; Chuckie staring at his left shoe, Dil looking at nothing in particular on the wall, and Tommy gazing out the window at the street. Acknowledging the girl's name and saying it aloud made the grim reality of the situation even heavier …

"So," began Dil, keen to know something else, "what happened afterwards, Chuckie? After Angelica left your house Monday arvo?"

"We hung out a lot during the week," Chuckie replied. "It was … " he smiled, despite himself " … nice."

"Yeah. I bet!" Dil sniggered.

"But we mainly hung out after school, so nobody would find out about us. Except you all did!"

"Hey!" Tommy butted in. "_I _only found out at the last minute. Thanks to Lil, who found out from Susie … "

"Right!" said Dil. "And then Lil told Kimi, who told me, and – "

"Okay, enough already!" said Chuckie irritably. "I get it. Our big secret failed miserably!"

"I still don't see why you didn't tell me, Chuck," said Tommy, stung. "I mean, you told Phil … "

"I'm sorry, Tommy," Chuckie apologised. "I was going to tell you, I swear! All of you. It's just I thought it might be weird, with Angelica being your cousin and all ..."

Tommy snickered. "It's not like she's my sister, dude. I'm not concerned with who Angelica goes out with! And in the case of you two guys going out, I would've been more concerned for _you_."

"Why, because you knew she'd dump me after one week?" said Chuckie sarcastically. "Like she does everyone else she goes out with?"

"No! I just think – "

"WHICH brings us to another important point, gentlemen," Dil cut it. "Why do you think Angelica's dumped you?"

"Gee, I don't know Dil," said Chuckie, even more sarcastic then before. "Maybe it was because she made a point to ignore me in front all you guys and her friends today? Like she's so _mortified_ to have everyone know we were going out! But hey, I don't know! Maybe I'm reading it wrong!"

"Well … maybe you are," Dil considered calmly, in the face of Chuckie's outburst. "She didn't seem too pleased about ignoring you. It was like she was struggling against her own will."

"I agree. The teary eyes were a dead give away," Tommy added. "I know Angelica can be insensitive, but … " he thought for a moment " … I feel like there's something else going on here. Something we don't know about?"

"I'll tell you what's going on here. I'm the 'flavour of the week', that's what's going on!" said Chuckie cynically. "Angelica's back to her old self, and I'm yesterday's news! She's probably got a new guy lined up already." Tommy shook his head.

"I seriously doubt it."

"Let's backtrack, shall we?" suggested Dil. "Tell us about your date on Valentine's Day."

"What for?" said Chuckie evasively, staring at his shoe again.

"So that we can get the full picture!" said Dil, sounding upbeat. "C'mon, it was only two days ago. Give us the lowdown!"

* * *

"_Even though Angelica and I had had a great week together: adjusting to the idea of being boyfriend and girlfriend, feeling a lot more romantic and a lot less 'icky', etc. … the prospect of our first date still managed to turn me into a nervous wreck!"_

Saturday night, Valentine's Day. 6.30pm – one hour before Chuckie would have to go meet Angelica at her house. He stood before his dresser mirror, trying desperately to gel his wild, uncontrollable mane of red hair into something more … well, controlled! But it was a near hopeless situation.

"C'mon – stay. Stay, god damn you! AGH!"

Chuckie was trying to weigh down a certain rebellious cluster of hair. It stayed put for a moment, only to spring up a second later.

"I don't think yelling at it is going to help some how ..."

The voice had come from Kimi, standing in his doorway.

"Oh, look!" said Chuckie, glaring at his sister. "Look who has come into my bedroom unannounced. Again!"

"The door was open," said Kimi, unaffected. "And technically speaking, I'm not in your bedroom."

"You're close enough," said Chuckie, tackling his hair again. Kimi sighed.

"Can I help you with that?"

"Ah … " said Chuckie, unsure. He really didn't want Kimi to see him gelling his hair, because he _never_ gelled his hair. Surely she would ask why he was doing it, and then logically assume he must be going on a date because it was Saturday night _and_ Valentine's Day. It was the 'who' Chuckie was going on a date with that he particularly did not want to divulge.

"Oh, here! Just let me do it," said Kimi impatiently, marching into the room and taking the tube of hair gel from Chuckie's hands. "_Yuck_! This junk is way sticky."

"Extra strength," said Chuckie, waiting for her to interrogate him. Maybe he should just tell her?

"I don't see why you're bothering to do this anyway," said Kimi conversationally, squeezing some gel into her hands. "It's going to be near impossible to get your hair to behave. You should've opted to go on your date natural! I don't think Angelica would mind … "

"Well, I thought about going natural. But then I thought – WHAT!"

Chuckie swerved around, facing Kimi. "How did you know I'm going on a date with Angelica?"

"Oh my gosh!" said Kimi, smiling. "So it _is_ true! You are dating Angelica."

"WHO told you?"

"Lil."

"And how does Lil know? Wait, " the blood rose to Chuckie's head as he realised. "_Phil_ told her. And he promised he wouldn't tell anyone!"

Kimi furrowed her eyebrows. "How does Phil know? And anyway, FYI Lil found out from Susie, whose information came directly from the source."

"What source?"

"Angelica."

"Oh. Great! So now _everybody_ knows!"

"Well, how come you told Phil about it and not me?"

"He's my friend."

"And I'm your sister!"

"Would you just fix my hair already? Please?" Chuckie pleaded, feeling too worked up. At least he knew Phil hadn't betrayed him. "I need to calm down. I don't want to begin my date covered in hives!"

Giving it a rest, Kimi began gluing Chuckie's hair down. She was smiling and chuckling to herself. "It's so cute. You and Angelica!" she giggled. "_In wuv_!"

"Knock it off!" said Chuckie, flushing in embarrassment. "I don't need this right now."

"Fine. But after tonight, you owe me some serious details on how this whole thing happened. Deal?"

"Deal," Chuckie agreed. So Kimi wanted to know the details, huh? Little did she know there were _many_ details to tell! Chuckie and Angelica's union was like a saga. Putting this aside for the moment, Chuckie took a good look at himself in the mirror. He frowned – his head looked like it'd been slimed. "Oh, this is hopeless! I'm gonna go shampoo it out."

Chuckie spent the next fifteen minutes in the shower, rubbing his skull to death with shampoo, trying to rid himself of the extra strength gel. Once he was done, he put on a bath robe and exited the bathroom, a large amount of steam accompanying him on the way out. Kimi met him in the hallway.

"What now?"

"Are we forgetting something?" said Kimi, crossing her arms and tilting her head.

"What? What I do?"

"I'll give you a hint. He's your best friend and his name begins with T … "

"_Tommy_!" Chuckie cried, putting his hands to his head. "Oh gosh, I completely forgot! I told him I'd sleep at his house tonight with you and the others. I better go call him!"

"Ya think?" said Kimi, as Chuckie hauled past her. She yelled after him: "you mean you haven't even told Tommy about Angelica yet?"

Chuckie ignored her and raced into the kitchen where he grabbed the cordless and dialled Tommy's number. He did not enjoy lying to his best friend of all people. He had meant to cancel his plans with Tommy earlier in the week, but he'd forgotten. Actually, if he _really_ admitted it to himself, he was avoiding it. Guilty for not having told Tommy about Angelica sooner, but still not ready to do so …

"Tommy!" he said into the phone. "Hey, it's me … Tonight? Ah, no. Look Tommy, I'm real sorry but I can't make it. Something suddenly came up … Er, well … I'm going on a date!"

_Oh god_ Chuckie thought to himself. Coming clean was not easy! Naturally, Tommy's shock was notable.

"It's kinda a new development actually!" Chuckie continued to say, choosing to omit Angelica's name for the present. "Okay, I'll hold … "

Kimi walked into the kitchen, just as Tommy had put Chuckie on hold.

"How could you not tell him?" Kimi hissed. Chuckie covered the bottom half of the phone with his hand.

"I plan on telling him!" Chuckie hissed back. "Just … not right this second – hello?" Chuckie was on the phone again. "Tommy, I gotta go. I'm sorry, I'll talk to you later … cya."

On that note, Chuckie hung up. Kimi was still standing there, glaring at him. _As if I'm not feeling guilty enough as it is!_

"You're gonna leave him hanging like that?"

"I only just saw the clock," said Chuckie, hastily pushing past her and out of the kitchen. "It's 7.15. I have to be at Angelica's in a quarter of an hour and I look like I've partially drowned!"

"So? The partially drowned look is very in right now!" Kimi teased, as Chuckie ran from sight.

He shut himself inside his bedroom, leaving very little time to decide on the perfect outfit. Kimi spoke to him through the door all the while: "why don't you try some of my hair gel? You put it in when your hair's wet."

The bedroom door opened all of a sudden and Chuckie stepped out. "Good idea!" he said, taking Kimi's gel, which she happened to be holding at the time. As he ran it through his hair with his fingers, Kimi gave him a look up and down: he was wearing a sky blue short-sleeve shirt – a nice colour with his eyes, and his best pair of jeans.

"You look very handsome, brother," Kimi complimented him, as he handed back her hair gel. "Even with wet hair."

"Thanks," said Chuckie, before ducking back into his room again to retrieve something he couldn't have left without: Angelica's present.

"Oh, Chuckie!" swooned Kimi, observing the small square box in Chuckie's hand, wrapped in hot pink wrapping paper and stuck onto of an envelope – clearly Angelica's Valentine's Day card. "What is it? Is it jewellery?"

"Earrings," said Chuckie shyly. "I hope she likes them."

"I'm sure she will," said Kimi, who suddenly had an urge to hug her big brother. "You are so sweet, I've never seen you like this before!"

"Kimi, get a hold of yourself," Chuckie joked, amused by Kimi's sudden turn in behaviour.

She let him go. "So where are you taking her?"

"Dinner and a movie. The usual," said Chuckie, making his way towards the front door. He had two minutes and counting. Good for him Angelica only lived a second away. "Oh, and Kimi?" he added, before leaving. "Can you not mention this to Tommy when you see him tonight? I'd rather he found out through me."

"Um … "

Unknown to Chuckie, Kimi was NOT going to Tommy's house for the pre-arranged sleepover with Phil and Lil. This was because she was going on a date of her own with Phil, leaving Lil alone with Tommy and giving _her_ a chance to let Tommy know how she'd secretly felt about him for the past two years. Valentine's Day is a very complicated affair! Kimi figured this was not the best time for Chuckie to know about Phil.

"Sure, Chuck. I won't say anything to Tommy when I see him," she lied. Chuckie didn't pick up on the guilty look she had on her face. He said goodnight, and began walking to Angelica's house.

* * *

"They're beautiful. I love them!"

Chuckie and Angelica's evening was going extremely well. Chuckie had gone to Angelica's house, drooled at the sight of her in her pink overcoat (the one she had threatened to buy three weeks before, thinking she'd end up spending Valentine's Day with Brad Pittman), where they then took a cab to a posh but mid-range Italian restaurant. Chuckie had used the money he'd been saving for a new video camera, in order to afford the restaurant _and_ Angelica's present, which she'd just unwrapped: a pair of silver plated hoop earrings.

"I'm going to put them on now," she said excitedly, taking out the earrings she was wearing and replacing them with the silver hoops. She was sitting across from Chuckie at the restaurant - a cosy pace with round tables layered in red and white thatched table clothes, with a warm aroma travelling in the air coming in from the woodfire oven in the kitchen. It was very busy tonight, as expected.

"How do they look?" said Angelica, turning her head from side to side.

"They look great," said Chuckie, happy she was happy. He honestly had no idea about buying jewellery, so he was pleased he'd chosen something she genuinely liked.

"So go on! Open your present now," she urged him.

Chuckie's present was also a box, it seemed – a bigger box. As he tore the wrapping, he realised it was …

"No _way_!"

It was the video camera he'd be saving up for. He couldn't believe it! _She bought me a camera, is she insane?_

"Angelica, I can't accept this," he said, though he was gawking at the camera like he wanted to accept it very much.

"Rubbish, Finster! Of course you can accept it. I'm happy to give it to you."

"But – "

"Accept it already! It's yours. Is it the right model?"

Chuckie nodded. "Yes, it's the exact one I wanted. Thank you, Angelica," he said, smiling at her. "You really didn't have to … thanks."

"My pleasure," she said, winking at him.

"Chuckie! _Angelica_!"

They both sunk a little in their seats – it was Didi and Stu Pickles.

_Sprung._

"Fancy seeing you two here!" Didi went on, staring from one to the other with twinkling eyes. It was beyond obvious they were on a date. They couldn't hide it if they tried.

"Hi aunt Didi, hi uncle Stu," greeted Angelica, being as pleasant as possible. "Are you guys having a nice night?"

"Lovely, dear! Thank you for asking. Are you kids having fun?"

"C'mon now, Didi," Stu intervened, taking his wife gently by the arm. Chuckie heard him say into her ear, "I think we're cramping their style."

"Oh, all right. I suppose we should get to our table. Bye kids!"

"Bye," said Angelica.

"Bye," croaked Chuckie, feeling humiliated. As they disappeared to another part of the restaurant, Chuckie said, "Of all the places they could've gone too tonight!"

"Oh, whatever! At least it's only my aunt and uncle. It's not like our parents caught us," said Angelica, quickly recovering.

"They may as well have! Didi and Stu will tell my parents, or your parents. We're screwed!"

"Yep." Angelica consented. "Royally."

They caught eachother's eye, and laughed. Managing to see the humour in the situation.

"The secret had to come out eventually, I guess," said Angelica, somewhat forlornly. "Oh well. We had a good run!"

"Yeah. The secret _did_ have to come out," Chuckie went on. "Especially ever since Susie blabbed that we're seeing eachother … "

"What?" Angelica's eyes widened. "Susie said something to you?"

"Not to me, to Lil. Who told Kimi … and so on."

"Lil knows? Kimi knows?"

"They _all_ know. Except Tommy, and possibly Dil … "

"Freakin' Susie!" said Angelica crossly, breaking a breadstick in half. "I told her about us in confidence, I can't believe she told Lil!"

"Why did you tell her anyway?"

"Oh, she figured it out! You know how perceptive she is. Thinks she knows everything, and I suppose she does a lot of the time."

* * *

The night took a rather interesting turn once Chuckie and Angelica arrived home ...

It was 11:20pm when the cab drove them to Chuckie's house. As they stepped out and walked to Chuckie's porch, Chuckie was certain he heard voices coming from a bush in his front yard. He went to investigate, only to find …

"KIMI!"

Freezing in motion, Phil and Kimi looked up to see Chuckie, standing over them with his hands on his hips. He'd just arrived back from his date with Angelica and, as you can imagine, was rather infuriated at the sight of his sister and friend straddling each other in his front yard.

"_Chuckie_!" said Kimi, horribly affronted and standing to face him. Phil stood too, but preferred sticking behind Kimi's back.

"Hey Chuck," said Phil gruffly, giving his friend a feeble wave. "Ah … how's it hanging?"

"How's it hanging?" Chuckie repeated nonsensically, before flaring up. "You were on top of my sister in a bush and you ask me _how's it hanging_!"

"Chuckie, cool it!" Kimi intervened. "And for the record, I was the one on top of Phil."

"That's right!" Phil retaliated, remaining behind Kimi. "All I was doing was innocently spying on my sister and … "

Phil's voice trailed off as he peeped over his shoulder, in the direction of Tommy and Lil. They were also outside in the street, further up. Currently walking hand-in-hand back to Tommy's house. Phil had a flare up of his own.

"Did you see that?" he remarked indignantly. "I think she put her hand on his ass!"

"Heal, Phillip!" said Kimi, permitting him from another launch. "Or I'll stick my foot in _your_ ass. You two are pathetic!" She eyed both Phil and her brother. "You can both go join an 'Over-Protective Brothers Anonymous' group in morning!"

"Ah, _hello_?" said an impatient voice from Chuckie and Kimi's porch. Angelica, looking very attractive in a pink dress and overcoat, was tapping her foot and staring at Chuckie. "Extremely beautiful and important date standing here like a lump!"

"Er … " said Chuckie, peering quickly at Angelica and feeling torn.

"Go back to Angelica, Chuckie," Kimi suggested wisely. "Me and Phil are leaving now anyway."

"Fantastic idea!" said Phil, already on his way.

"Okay, fine!" Chuckie gave in. "But this isn't over!" Kimi rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, _dad_. See you later." She turned and walked away with Phil. As they walked, they could hear Chuckie say 'coming, Angelica!', and Angelica's annoyed reply of 'it's about freakin' time!'

With Kimi and Phil now gone, Chuckie and Angelica entered Chuckie's house where Chuckie blew up in a confused, rambling rage over the whole matter.

"What the HELL is going on?" he said in a loud, incensed voice. "First Phil kisses Monet Mulford, and then what? He moves onto my _sister?_ In my yard! They're meant to be over at Tommy's house having a sleepover, not committing acts of degradation in my dad's foliage! And what was Phil saying about Lil having her hand on Tommy's ass? _What kind of a sleepover is this_! _I_ –"

Chuckie's mouth shut as Angelica's mouth closed in on it. "Do you think we could discuss this some other time, Chuckie?" Her hands circled around Chuckie's waist, readily turning his mind and speech into mush.

"Yah … kay," Chuckie splutterd indecipherably.

Kissing all the way to Chuckie's bedroom, Chuckie was able to forget the thing with Phil and his sister. Well, for that night anyway.

* * *

"Did you guys – "

"NO!"

He knew the question was coming, and that it would be Dil who'd most likely ask it.

"No, we did not do 'it'," Chuckie verified, cheeks reddening. "Angelica stayed the night but nothing happened."

Dil smiled cheekily.

"Are you sure you guys didn't – "

"NO!"

"I'm kidding, dude!" Dil laughed. "I just like the way you keep saying 'NO!', it's comic genius!"

"_While_ we're on the subject of Phil and my little sister," Chuckie said seriously, wanting to change the subject, "would one of you mind please telling me how _exactly_ those two decided to suddenly date one another?"

"You don't know?" said Tommy, surprised.

"Kimi has yet to explain it to me in full," said Chuckie, and sounding unhappy about it. "Sunday we didn't get a lot of time to talk in the end, and today … well, you know. Lot's of things happened today."

"Apparently they've both liked eachother for a while," Tommy explained. "A couple of months or something. That's what Lil told me … "

* * *

"Kimi?"

Lunch time, the previous Monday – the Monday everyone found out about Brad Pittman's arrest. After Chuckie left the lunchroom to search for Angelica, Kimi excused herself a minute or so later to go to the bathroom.

Phil followed her. He waited outside in the hall, and just as Kimi came out Phil called her name. She turned to him.

"Hey Phil," she said, surprised to see him standing there. "What are you doing here?"

"Are you okay?"

"Not exactly. I'm a bit stunned ... how could Brad and his friends do that to somebody?"

Kimi looked off into the distance. Phil on the other hand was shifting his weight awkwardly from foot-to-foot, eager to blurt something out. So he did.

"Can I hug you?"

"Huh?"

"I mean – " Phil stuttered, and cursed himself. He was losing his confidence already. He assumed because he'd kissed Monet Mulford on the weekend that asking Kimi out for Valentine's Day would be a synch. Not exactly the case …

"I mean, do you want a hug? Do you need to be comforted?"

"Are you saying you _want_ to comfort me?"

"Would you like me to?"

"PHILLIP! What are you trying to say?"

"WillyougooutwithmethisSaturdayplease?"

He said it so fast it made Kimi disorientated a moment. She blinked at him, shocked. He liked her … he was asking her out!

"I guess that's a big fat no, then," said Phil dejectedly, reading the signs wrong. "I'll see you around I supp – "

It was Phil's turn to be shocked into a stupor. Kimi had dashed towards him, hugged him, and kissed him square on the mouth.

"I'd love to," she breathed, and then left. Phil remained standing there, watching her go and breathing hard. Wondering if it was true …

"She kissed me," he said faintly, the truth dawning on him. "I got kissed … _again_. I got kissed again!"

It was quite possibly the happiest moment of this fifteen-year-old boy's life, to be kissed twice within the proximity of two days by two different beautiful girls. He stood there a moment longer, and then jumped into the air with a resonating, celebratory 'YES!' that rippled across the school.

* * *

**Phew! I made it to the Valentine's Day madness. This story is finally coming to an end – but not before a big finale, so stay tuned! I know this fic has been unpredictable, but thanks to the readers who have stayed with it and who have come back to review. I hope you guys enjoyed this chappie ;)**


	13. Chapter Thirteen

_Strike three__, Savannah._

* * *

_"Sunday morning, the day after Valentine's Day. I felt a pillow __make sudden contact with my face … "_

"Wakey wakey, Finster."

It was the voice of Angelica Pickles, coming from Chuckie's bed. Chuckie, for his part, had been sleeping on his couch. He spluttered awake, and turned towards her.

"Good morning to you too," he said dozily, throwing the pillow back and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "What time is it?"

"Eight thirty-ish," Angelica responded, all snug lying beneath Chuckie's sheets. Wearing a borrowed pair of Kimi's pyjamas, she patted the empty space on the mattress beside her. "Why don't you get off that couch and come over here a minute?"

Wobbly on his feet, and not seeing quite as clearly without his glasses, Chuckie stumbled inelegantly to his bed and slid under the sheets with Angelica.

"Hmm, hello," he murmured with his eyes closed, pulling her closer.

"Still sleepy, huh?"

"Mm hm."

"Was the couch comfortable? You could've slept in the bed with me, I don't care."

"No," Chuckie yawned. "I couldn't do that. I'm a gentleman … and you're a guest. Guests get the bed." Angelica sniggered.

"I'm sure you would've kept your paws to yourself!"

"Did you sleep okay?"

"Fine."

Chuckie began smoothing his hand up and down Angelica's back. "Last night was great. Thank you for my camera."

"Chuckie, quit thanking me. It's embarrassing!"

"I can't help it. I love it … I love you."

He said it in a dreamy voice, half-asleep; it was the second time he'd told her he loved her. Angelica opened her mouth, as if to respond, but the words lodged tight in her throat. She kissed him instead, and said quickly, "I've gotta use the bathroom. I'll be back, okay?"

"Okay."

Angelica made her escape. Chuckie in the mean time was starting to wake up. He rolled on his back, and began thinking …

_I guess she'__s not ready to say 'I love you' yet. It's a pretty big deal to say. Can't believe I said it already … twice! I hope I haven't scared her … _

Ten minutes later she'd returned, laughing behind her hand.

"What?" said Chuckie, alarmed. "What's so funny?"

"Your dad saw me!" she said, closing the door carefully behind her. "As I was coming out of the bathroom."

"_What_!" said Chuckie, further alarmed. "What … what did he do?"

"Poor man," said Angelica, lying on the bed. "He was so shocked to see me he could hardly do anything. So I just said 'good morning', and he said 'good morning' back. Like nothing out of the ordinary was happening."

"And he saw you come into my room?"

"Yuh huh … "

"Oh no," moaned Chuckie, taking his pillow out from under his head and smothering his face with it.

"It's okay he knows about us, right? The secret _is_ out, isn't it?"

_Like we have __a choice now!_

"Yes, its fine he knows," said Chuckie, removing his pillow to speak. "Totally fine. It's just I would've preferred to sit him down and explain it to him."

"Sorry," said Angelica, wrinkling her nose. "He kind of caught me off guard."

"It's okay," Chuckie affirmed. "I suppose this means I'm in for a big father-son chat later today … "

"You can count on it," said Angelica, amused at the very thought. "By the way, do you mind if I wear Kimi's pj's home?"

"Yeah, sure. That should be fine … are you leaving now?"

It was clear she was. Angelica stood up and grabbed her clothes, which were folded in a neat pile on Chuckie's dresser.

"I've gotta go. I'm gonna go see Savannah today and tell her about us."

"You are?"

So Angelica was finally going to tell her friends about her and Chuckie, starting with the top of the heap: Savannah Shane. It was a significant step forward, Chuckie realised. This was almost as significant as Angelica telling him she loved him. Almost ...

"I want to tell her before school tomorrow," Angelica continued, picking her pink heels up off the floor. "I think its better she knows in advance."

"Okay," Chuckie nodded. "Whatever you think is best."

With her clothes and heels all in hand, Angelica was ready to go. "Listen, don't run off and kill Phil today. All right?"

"Phil? Why would I – "

Chuckie had forgotten … until that moment. _Phil and Kimi. Together! _

"I'll kill him!" said Chuckie, murderous.

"Oh for crying out loud!" Angelica exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "Leave them be, big brother. I mean, it's been obvious to anyone with half a brain that those two are hot for eachother."

"It has _not_!" said Chuckie, indignant. Then he thought it over. "I mean … how has it been obvious?"

"All they do is bicker," said Angelica evidently. "That's how Susie knew we liked eachother. And trust me: NOBODY bickers like us! Although those two come in at a close second."

Now that he came to think of it, Chuckie recalled having a conversation with Lil two weeks ago on this very topic – which Chuckie himself had started. He observed Phil and his sister were arguing more then usual, to which Lil accurately said the words: "_they're sparring like an old married couple_."

"Bye Chuck," she said, going over to give him a kiss on the lips. Chuckie responded, though part of his brain was still entertaining murder. Angelica rolled her eyes again.

"It'll be okay, Chuckie. Lighten up!" she said, smiling, and punching him playfully in the arm. "If you don't hear from me later today, I'll see you at school tomorrow."

* * *

"Did she ever tell you how her meeting with Savannah went?" Tommy asked Chuckie. He'd walked away from the window and sat down next to Chuckie on his bed. Dil was sitting on the other side. Chuckie was looking glumly down towards his hands, picking at one of his fingernails.

"No," he said quietly, shaking his head. "After she left my house for Savannah's, she never called me. I wondered about it all day. I was tempted to call her but I decided not to in the end. I figured she'd tell me all about it this morning."

Tommy and Dil exchanged mirrored looks of concern. Chuckie, still working on his fingernail, went back into sarcastic-mode.

"But _no_! Angelica didn't have anything to say to me today. Not a single, damn thing … "

* * *

"_It was like déjà vu__. There I was thinking how far we'd come, and how well everything was going! But I was sadly mistaken. In one moment Angelica took that notion out from under me and stomped on it."_

Chuckie bitterly re-lived walking into the school building earlier that morning. He approached Phil and Kimi first, after spying them standing too close for comfort against the lockers.

"Ahem!" Chuckie abruptly announced his presence. Phil jumped back from Kimi.

"I wasn't touching her, I swear!"

"_Chuckie_!"

"Sorry!" Chuckie apologised. "I'm still getting used to some things … "

"Well _get_ used it!" said Kimi teasingly. "Don't mind my brother, Phil. Our father had him in his clutches most of yesterday afternoon, talking to him about his ever-developing relationship with Angelica."

"All right!" said Phil, smiling. "So now the padres know, huh Chuck? Does this mean you and Angelica are officially public knowledge? What about the Brat Pack?"

"Angelica told Savannah Shane about us yesterday. I don't know how it went, she said she'd tell me today … "

"That's great news, Chuckie," said Kimi reassuringly. "Angelica telling the troll Savannah about you guys means she's serious about being with you. I hope it goes well."

"Me too, buddy," added Phil.

"Hey guys!" said Tommy, walking up to them while hand-in-hand with Lil.

"Hey … " said Lil vaguely. She'd meant to say it to the group at large, but ended up saying it to Tommy while gazing into his eyes.

"Oh please, _shoot_ me!"

Dil appeared, brushing past his brother and Lil.

"If I have to watch any more eye-gazing between those two, I'm going to start feeling ignored!"

"We _are_ ignoring you," remarked Tommy from behind Dil's back, smirking.

"Where's the scooter today, Dil?" Phil asked.

"Vice-Principal Pangborn confiscated it last Monday," Dil informed them all, a tad miffed. "But no to worry! I'm confident I'll be able to cushion his ego and weasel it back into my hands before the day is out."

Chuckie looked round at all his friends, smiling. _Yesterday's friends_. Tomorrow was today, and everything had changed. Tommy with Lil, Phil with Kimi, and Chuckie with –

"Hey, here comes Angelica!" said Dil, looking over his shoulder to the entrance. "With … Savannah?"

"What?"

_Something'__s wrong_. Or maybe not Chuckie hoped, but he knew instinctively things were about to go downhill.

It was the usual scenario: the Brat Pack walking the hallway like a catwalk; Angelica alongside Savannah, Christy and Monet. So did this mean Angelica and Savannah were friends again? Chuckie predicted they wouldn't be, because he couldn't imagine Savannah accepting him as Angelica's boyfriend. He didn't care less if she did or didn't, but he was sure she wouldn't so it was a shock for him to see her and Angelica side-by-side. Maybe he was wrong about her? Maybe Angelica had told her and she was fine with it? _Unlikely!_

Savannah was even more up-herself than usual. Her head was held extra high, and she seemed triumphant about something … like she'd just won Miss America. Angelica on the other hand was shrinking at Savannah's side, resentful and downcast. As they neared Chuckie and the others, Angelica peered quickly in Chuckie's direction …

… and then turned just as quickly away.

Chuckie felt like there was a fist clenched around his heart. He wasn't putting up with this, not after everything they'd been through! He didn't care if he was about to make a scene …

"_Angelica_!"

He ran after her, calling her name. Everyone standing in the hallway stopped to watch. "Angelica, please! What's the matter?" He reached out to grab her hand but she snatched it away, as if he'd given her an electric shock. In a flash she looked to him over her shoulder, with tears in her eyes. Then she shook her head 'no', turned away and kept walking.

Everyone had seen it. Even Susie Carmichael.

* * *

The End? Not quite ...

After Angelica snubbed Chuckie that day, Chuckie had gone to Tommy and Dil's house after school for solace. He also ended up telling Tommy and Dil all about how he and Angelica had fallen in love. Well … at least how _he_ had fallen in love.

But what of Angelica? Where did she go that afternoon? Chuckie wasn't the only one in need of solace …

"Susie honey, Angelica's here!" Susie's mom yelled up the stairs.

"Send her up!" Susie yelled from her bedroom.

A minute later, Angelica was standing in Susie Carmichael's doorway. Susie was lying on her bed, listening to her ipod. When she saw Angelica, she sat up, removed the headphones and turned the music off.

The girls didn't speak right away, and Angelica didn't enter Susie's room right away either. Susie looked her up and down: Angelica was worse for wear. Her eyes were blotchy and her nose was red, so she either had hay fever or she'd begin crying. Susie rightly assumed it was the latter.

"I screwed up," Angelica croaked, eyes watering as she said it.

"You could say that," said Susie guardedly, not ready to show Angelica too much sympathy just yet. Not until she had the full story. "Sit down."

Susie indicated to the computer chair at her desk. Angelica entered the room and sat, just as Susie tossed her a tissue box - the extent of her sympathy so far.

"Thanks," said Angelica, catching the box and retrieving a tissue to wipe her eyes.

"So … " Susie initiated. "What's going on?"

"I haven't seen you at school for a while," Angelica commented, avoiding Susie's eyes and picking at her tissue. "Where have you been?"

"With Hayley," said Susie stiffly. "I was with her all week last week. It was her birthday on Tuesday … "

"Is she doing okay?"

"Um," said Susie, finding that question difficult to answer. "She's … Hayley's got a lot of support. She did the right thing that night, calling the police. It was brave. A lot of girls in that situation are too scared to come forward. They tend to stay quiet, thinking it's their fault." Susie snickered in disgust. "It's _never_ their fault. I mean, I thought Brad was just a regular sleazeball, I had no idea he was capable of – "

To Susie's amazement, Angelica had broken into uncontrollable tears.

"Angelica? Hey … " Susie got up and pulled the computer chair closer to her bed. " … Angelica, c'mon. What is it? You can talk to me."

Unable to bare the sight of Angelica this vulnerable, Susie readily dropped her guard. It took a while for Angelica to surface her face from her hands, and to stop sobbing enough to speak. She eventually looked up at Susie, her face a sodden mess, and Susie handed her some more tissues.

"Speak, Pickles," Susie demanded, concerned. "That's an order."

Angelica related to Susie all about the night she'd had at Brad Pittman's party. About how Savannah had pressured her to be with Brad, about how she came to realise she had feelings for Chuckie … and how it was almost _she_ who had been in Hayley Clencie's position.

"It's my fault Hayley got raped!" Angelica wept, burying her face in Susie's lap. "_I'm a horrible person_!"

"No, Angelica! My god no," said Susie, stroking Angelica's hair. "It's not your fault, its Brad and his friends fault. Don't you think for a second the blame lies with you! Thank goodness you got away. Thank goodness for Chuckie … "

At the sound of Chuckie's name, Angelica cried even harder.

"Oh, Angelica!" Susie was beginning to feel a little helpless, but also understood it was important for Angelica to cry. From the sound of it she'd been bottling a lot of things up, and needed to let it all go before it made her ill. "It's all right, Angelica. You take as long as you want."

Again, it was a while before Angelica calmed down. When she raised her head from Susis's lap, she immediately apologised.

"I've drenched your skirt," she blubbered.

"Don't worry about it!" said Susie, waving it off with her hand. "I'm sure it'll come right out in the wash. Did you want to lie down?" To this Angelica nodded and sniffed that she would, so she and Susie swapped places: Angelica on Susie's bed, and Susie sitting in the computer chair.

"I'll go get us something to drink, huh?" Susie went on to say, as Angelica got comfortable. "Something hot? Hot chocolate?"

"Do you have any herbal tea?"

"Maybe … I'll go check. Be right back, okay?"

"Okay."

When Susie returned, she was holding two steaming hots mugs. She placed them both on her desk. Angelica's mug had a picture of a bright, yellow smiling sun (Susie's attempt at cheering her up), while Susie's mug had a picture of a Sagittarian centaur shooting an arrow – Susie's zodiac sign.

"Your tea is chamomile and orange from memory," Susie explained. "Is that okay? It's my sister's, she apparently drinks it all the time."

"Sounds perfect. Thank you," said Angelica quietly from the bed.

"Let it sit for a while," Susie advised. "It's still pretty hot."

There was another pause between the two girls, as they waited for their drinks to cool down. Finally, with glistening eyes, Angelica murmured: "he's never going to forgive me, is he?"

"I don't know, Angelica," said Susie, partially guarded again. She'd witnessed the scene in the hallway between Angelica and Chuckie, and how Chuckie had been humiliated. She'd also witnessed how Angelica continued to ignore poor Chuckie for the rest of the day. It made her mad just thinking about it. "Why don't you tell me why you did it in the first place? You must have a reason. Not even you could be that mean ... "

"Savannah blackmailed me," said Angelica outright.

"She – _what_? How?" said Susie, shocked.

"She knows something about me," Angelica continued with a severe tone of voice. "Something nobody else knows."

"What does she know?"

With some uncertainty, Angelica went on to tell Susie about her meeting with Savannah yesterday afternoon.

* * *

"_I left Chuckie's house and went home where I called Savannah on her mobile. It was the first time we'd spoken since our fight the previous week. I told her I wanted to talk to her, and she said she was going to the mall for lunch so I told her I'd meet her there …"_

There was a large food court at the mall. That's where Savannah told Angelica to meet her, at twelve sharp. The mall was packed with people – particularly the food court. Angelica would've much preferred to meet Savannah some place more quiet …

"Pickles!"

Savannah had called out to Angelica up ahead, waving. She was sitting alone at a two person table, drinking a large frappuccino. The table was situated at the edge of a balcony, with a wide-scoping view of the lower floor below.

"Hey," said Angelica, sitting down across from Savannah.

"Hey," said Savannah, sucking on the straw of her frappuccino. "What's up? Have you come to apologise?"

"I came to tell you something," said Angelica, not wanting to beat around the bush. She knew the best way to deal with Savannah Shane was to stick to your guns and be direct.

"Oh?" said Savannah inquiringly, raising her perfectly plucked eyebrow. "And what would that be?"

"I'm dating Chuckie Finster."

Savannah coughed on her frappuccino. "You mean that freckled geek you were doing your biology assignment with?"

"Watch the mouth, Savannah," said Angelica icily. "I knew you wouldn't approve. But to be blunt, I'm not here to seek your approval. I just thought you'd like to know."

"You cannot date Chuckie Finster, Angelica," said Savannah, biting back. "You _know_ you can't."

"Oh, pray tell. Why not?"

"Because it's selfish! You're going to destroy the group and everything it stands for. Everything you and I, Christy and Monet have worked for and preserved all these years."

"Oh, shut up!" said Angelica, irritated. "Stop talking about us like we're a National Park."

"You're turning your back on your friends!"

"If my so-called 'friends' have a problem with who I date, then I'm not sure I want to be friends with them anymore!"

Savannah tried another tactic. "Fine. But what about you and your own personal reputation, Angelica? I know Chuckie's an old friend of yours, right? You've known him since when … since you guys were in diapers?"

"What are you getting at?"

"Just saying that you're a 'flavour of the week' kinda girl. Nobody goes through guys like you do. What are you doing playing with the heart of your childhood friend?"

"I am NOT playing him!" said Angelica through gritted teeth, incensed. "It's different this time. I'm serious about him!"

"Yeah!" Savannah chuckled. "I've heard _that_ before ..."

"It's different! And I don't need to prove it to you or anybody else. Least of all you!"

Fed up with having to face her former best friend one second longer, Angelica sat up suddenly and turned away, intent on storming off … but Savannah still had one last manoeuvre up her sleeve.

"I'll tell everyone."

"Be my guest!" said Angelica sarcastically, swerving around. "Tell the entire school me and Chuckie are dating, I really don't care anymore."

"Not that, Angelica! Something else."

That caught Angelica's attention. She stopped walking and turned round. Savannah stood from the table and slowly walked in Angelica's direction, her shiny red heels 'clacking' against the fake marble floor with each oncoming step. An unspoken transmission crossed between them as they glared into eachother's eyes. Angelica suddenly realised what Savannah was up to, and what she meant when she said _"I'll tell everyone"_ …

"You diabolical bitch!"

"That's right," said Savannah, smiling a twisted smile. "I'll broadcast it across the whole school. Your parents will find out. Chuckie will find out … "

"You _swore _you would never tell anyone!" said Angelica in a low, dangerous voice. Savannah had struck a deep, buried nerve. Before she was just angry but now Angelica looked ready to choke Savannah to death with the strap of her red leather handbag in front the entire mall. "Don't do this, Savannah. It's beyond bitchy and you know it!"

"I'm afraid I have to, Pickles. Trust me … " she said, arrogant, and began to walk away " … _stay away_ from Chuckie Finster. I'm doing you both a favour. It'd never last!"

Savannah 'clacked' from sight. Angelica – angry, stunned and sickened all at once, ran as fast as she could for the nearest ladies toilet.

* * *

"The End."

Angelica finished telling her story to Susie. Susie was sitting on the edge of her computer chair, vying to know –

" – what information has Savannah got against you, Angelica? Tell me! It can't be that bad … can it?"

Angelica gave Susie a grimace that said _oh yes it can!_

"But I'll tell you anyway," said Angelica at last, giving in. "It happened two years ago … "

* * *

**Yes, it's the dreaded cliffhanger! ****Haven't done one of those in a while. Please stay tuned because the next chapter will be my grand finale. I hope to go out with the bang this story deserves ;) **


	14. Final Chapter

_There's only one way to get your boyfriend back: public humiliation. And lots of it!_

* * *

"Oh my god … oh my _god_!"

Susie was totally astounded. Angelica had just finished telling her all about her deepest, darkest secret. The secret only Savannah Shane had known about … until now. They were both still in Susie's room: Susie seated on the computer chair, and Angelica on Susie's bed; sitting up with her back against the headboard. Angelica's sunny, smiley-face mug of chamomile and orange tea was cradled in her lap, warming her hands.

"Oh my god!" Susie repeated.

"Is there an echo in here?" said Angelica, a tad sarcastically. Susie's severe shock did not surprise her. She'd expected this kind of reaction.

"I'm sorry," said Susie. "It's just … my god. I have so many questions."

"Fire away! It's all out in the open now, I guess."

"How did you hide this from everybody? You would've been going through some pretty tough emotions. I can't believe nobody noticed! Me, your parents … "

"It happened around the same time Fluffy died," Angelica explained. Fluffy was Angelica's old cat. "If anybody asked me what was up, I'd use Fluffy as my cover."

"Oh," said Susie, realising how this made sense. She went on with the questioning. "And I always thought Derek Tlusty was your … you know, 'first'?"

"Yeah," said Angelica, bringing the mug to her lips, "Derek thinks so too."

"Angelica, why didn't you tell me about any of this before!"

"I don't know! Honestly, I didn't want anybody to know. But I had to tell somebody in the end and Savannah was closest at the time. She swore and hoped to die she'd never tell anyone. Little good that does me now … "

"Do you really think Savannah would do this to you? I mean, tell the whole school your secret? Just to stop you from dating Chuckie Finster?" Susie shook her head pitifully. "It's so trivial."

"Savannah's afraid, Susie. She knows if the group splits not only will she no longer be little miss popularity, but she'll also be friendless. Savannah's not like me. She doesn't have any friends outside the clique. And in answer to whether or not she can _really_ do this to me? Yeah, she can. Savannah's all about revenge. Remember what happened when her last boyfriend Adrian McDougal cheated on her with that college girl?"

Susie grinned widely. "Oh yeah! I got _that_ email."

"Everybody got that email!"

"Adrian posing in one of Savannah's hot pink lacy g-strings," said Susie, recalling the memory fondly. "A photo that will go down in history."

"You know she sent that photo to every high school in the region?"

"_Shut up_! Are you serious?"

"It'd be circulating across the globe by now. People in Taiwan have probably seen it."

"It probably has its own website."

"Yeah, Adrian McDougal's doodle dot com."

Both girls laughed raucously, until remembering the issue at hand. Then things turned serious again.

"What am I going to do?" said Angelica, after a long pause. "Even if this thing about me gets out … I hurt Chuckie. And this isn't the only time I've hurt him, I've hurt him _a lot_. I've kept him at arms length and he's been nothing but patient. I don't know if he has it in him to forgive me again … "

"I think I have an idea that could make everything turn right again," said Susie, after some careful deliberation. "It's crazy, but crazy just might be our ticket!"

"Should I be scared?" said Angelica, apprehensive. Susie smiled.

"Yes, my friend. Now listen up!"

* * *

Five days later …

"Maybe it needs less tentacles?"

"_Less_ tentacles? More is always less when it comes to tentacles, Lil. That's a rule!"

Phil chuckled. "Dil's fashion tips, 101."

"Fine!" Dil removed the head of his blue ring octopus costume. "Don't move, I've got more lined up … "

Dil departed Tommy's bedroom where Tommy, Phil, Lil and Kimi had gathered late that Friday afternoon. They were all going to the big high school football game together in about an hour or so. Dil, who aspired to become the new mascot for the senior's football team, was road testing costume ideas on the others.

"The team's already got a mascot!" Tommy yelled out from his bed, where he was lying next to Lil. "They're the Leopards, remember genius?"

No answer. Lil giggled.

"I think it's cute!"

"Please don't use the word 'cute' in relation to my brother," said Tommy, irritated. "The guy's a screw loose! First he wants to be mascot for the soccer team and now the football team? Who already _have_ a mascot. What's the point?"

"It's Dil, T. Why does there have to be a point?" Phil commented accurately, sitting on the floor next to Kimi.

"True," said Tommy, weighing this up.

"Give the guy a break, Tommy," Kimi went on to say. "You know how he's an activist for the representation of lesser known animals in popular sports."

"I admire Dil's activism. Really I do!" said Tommy, in all seriousness. "But couldn't the guy do something normal? Couldn't he save trees?"

"How about _this_!"

Dil had appeared again, in a new costume.

"What … are you?" Kimi asked, sounding slightly disgusted.

"I'm a centipede!" said Dil, like it was obvious.

"_Ew_!" said Lil, scrunching her face. "That's way gross!"

"_Really_?" said Dil, who couldn't be happier. "This is exactly the kind of reaction I was hoping for. You see, in sports teams the tactic is to provoke _fear_ in the opposition, so they'll commonly elect an animal of prey to be the mascot. But repulsion!" Dil held his index finger high in the air. "Repulsion ladies and gentlemen, is the key to victory."

"The centipede's got my vote," said Phil, nodding in approval. "It's disgusting _and_ scary. Totally two birds with one stone."

"Excellent!" said Dil, shutting the door and leaving Tommy's room very satisfied.

"Still think he's cute?" said Tommy. Lil just shrugged.

"So, ah … " Phil began " … do you guys think Chuckie's coming over or what?"

"He said he would," said Kimi, consulting her watch. "I told him coming to the football game would be good for him. Beats staying in his room listening to 'Unchained Melody' at full blast, right?"

"I wonder what Angelica's dirty little secret is anyway," pondered Phil, stroking his chin.

Susie had blabbed to Lil that morning (who then blabbed to Kimi, and so on) that Savannah Shane had blackmailed Angelica into breaking it off with Chuckie. Although, to Susie's credit, she did not say what the secret was. Now the rugrats were stumped trying to figure out what Angelica's secret could possibly be.

"Maybe she got plastic surgery," Kimi suggested. "Has anyone noticed her nose seems pinchier?"

"Her nose has always been pinchy," said Lil.

"Maybe Savannah has a photo of Angelica with unshaven armpits!" said Phil, laughing.

"_What_?" said Kimi, disgusted again. "Unshaven armpits?"

"Hey, I'm just brainstorming here … " said Phil innocently.

"It'd better not be something stupid like that," said Tommy, angered. "All I can say is Angelica's secret better be PRETTY rotten for her to have treated Chuckie the way she has. I've never seen Chuckie so depressed … "

"Just remember guys," Lil spoke up. "When Chuckie shows – _if _Chuckie shows, nobody say anything about Angelica being blackmailed. Those were Susie's orders. That and to make sure we got Chuckie to come to the football game. Even if we have to drag him there."

"We probably will have to drag him there," said Kimi, consulting her watch again. "Why does Susie want Chuckie to come to the football game so bad anyway?"

"Isn't Susie singing the anthem tonight?" Tommy queried.

"Yep. Chuckie can't possibly skip 'Unchained Melody' for the Star Spangled Banner," said Phil, sarcastic.

"Some how I don't think that's the reason why Susie wants us to bring Chuckie," said Lil smartly.

There was a knock at the door. Tommy called out, "Come in!"

"Hey sport," said Stu Pickles, entering the room. "Hey kids."

"Hey Mr Pickles."

"You guys almost ready? We want to get to the game early so we get front row seats."

"Sure dad," said Tommy. "Give us about ten or fifteen minutes. We gotta go hole out Chuckie first … "

And with that, Tommy, Phil, Lil, Kimi and Dil – suited up and ready to go in his centipede costume, walked on over to the Finster residence to retrieve Chuckie out of hiding.

They rang the doorbell. Chazz Finster answered shortly after.

"Oh, hi guys!" he greeted them all with a smile. "Ready for the big game?"

"Is Chuckie ready?" said Kimi, cutting to the chase. Chazz's smile turned upside down.

"I don't think he wants to go, Kimi sweetie."

"Like that matters! He's coming whether he likes it or not."

"Kimi, you can't force him to go."

"Watch me!"

"Kim – "

Kimi pushed past her dad, with the others following after her apologetically.

"Sorry Mr Finster," said Tommy, going past.

"Excuse me!" chirped Lil.

"Excuse us," said Phil.

"Sorry," said Dil, entering last. Chazz looked Dil over as he went by, amused.

"Is it Halloween already?"

Everyone headed to Chuckie's bedroom. The door was sealed shut, as predicted.

"Chuckie!" Kimi cried out, knocking. "Chuckie it's us!"

"Come out, Chuck!" Tommy cried next. "We're all going to the game and we want you to come with us."

"We'll buy wieners on sticks!" shouted Dil excitedly.

"Yeah, and then we'll throw them at cheerleaders!" added Phil, even more excitedly. The girls rolled their eyes.

There was no response, though music could be heard from within. Everyone went silent and listened, trying to decipher the song …

"What _is_ that?" said Dil.

"_And I'm ready to take a chance again! Ready to put my love on the line with you … "_

"Is he playing … "

" … Barry Manilow?" finished Tommy, hitting the nail on the head. Dil snickered.

"See, brother? I _knew_ you were a closet Barry Manilow fan!"

"Shut up, Dil! Everybody's heard that song before."

"Dear god … " said Phil, sounding faint. "It's worse then we imagined! He's listening to _Barry Manilow_!"

As if fearing for Chuckie's very life, Phil banged on the door and pleaded for Chuckie to open up.

"_Please_, Chuckie! You don't have to do this! It's not too LATE!"

At Phil's insistence, the door opened. A grumpier then usual Chuckie Finster stood on the otherside, glaring at his friends.

"What is WRONG with you people!"

"Look who's talking," said Kimi, arms folded. "You said you'd come to the game!"

"I changed my mind!"

"Well change it back!"

"No! I'm … busy."

"Busy how? You're gonna listen to 'Mandy' next?" Tommy cut it.

"Thomas knows Barry's album by heart," Dil commented from the background, to which Tommy turned round and told to him to shut up again.

"Please Chuckie," said Lil, trying a softer approach. "We'd really like it if you'd come along."

"I just … " said Chuckie futilely, realising there was nothing he could do or say to stop them from trying to get him to go. He gave in – bitterly. "Guess I'll go change my clothes then ... "

"Yeah, and turn off that music while you're at it!" Kimi advised, before Chuckie shut the door on them.

After Chuckie had changed his clothes, everybody divided into separate cars: Tommy, Lil and Dil went in Stu and Didi's car, as Chuckie, Kimi and Phil went in Chazz and Kira's car. In Stu and Didi's car, Dil continued to question the nature of Angelica's secret.

"Perhaps she's not human? Perhaps she's one of our alien brethren!" Dil speculated from the backseat, sitting beside his brother and Lil.

"You mean like Angelica's from another planet?" said Lil doubtfully.

"Yeah, planet 'Bitchdonia'," remarked Tommy.

"_Tommy_!" Didi scolded her son from the front. "Don't talk about your cousin that way."

"Sorry," Tommy grumbled. "I was only half kidding ... "

"Ha ha, Bitchdonia!" chuckled Stu, driving the car. He continued to chuckle, until he caught sight of the look his wife was giving him. Then he promptly pretended to clear his throat instead.

Driving not too far behind, in Chazz and Kira's car, Chuckie was telling anyone who'd listen to him how much he really REALLY didn't want to be going to the football game.

"It's not like we're going to win or anything," he moped. "Ever since Brad and his friends got kicked out of school and cut from the team. Not that I'm complaining about that … "

"C'mon, misery guts. It'll be fun!" said Kimi brightly, sitting beside Chuckie in the back. She waved her Leopards flag in his face. "Sportsmanship! School spirit!"

"Don't forget wieners on sticks," Phil added importantly, sitting on Kimi's other side.

Annoyed, Chuckie brushed Kimi's flag from his face. "I got it! Since when did you give damn about competitive sports anyway?"

"Since you locked yourself in your room for the entire week listening to love song dedication's greatest hits!"

"You know," said Chazz from the driver's seat, speaking over the three of them, "the team just may surprise you. We might win tonight!"

Chuckie, Kimi and Phil all looked at eachother.

"Not a chance."

"There's no possible way."

"We'll be creamed before the first half."

Some time later, both cars were pulling into the school parking lot. It was already filling up; all around them crowds of students, parents and teachers alike were dressed in Leopards t-shirts and jerseys and waving flags. Some people had leopard painted faces. They were all congregating towards the stadium, where the football field was lit up beneath four large glaring spotlights.

As Chuckie, Kimi and Phil hopped out of the back of the Finster's car, the school cheerleaders walked past them. They were led by the sprightly cheerleading captain and Angelica's good friend Christy Grabelski; her short red hair up in pigtails. Phil eyed them like moving targets.

"Where's the guy selling the food?"

"Phil, behave!" said Kimi, giving him light whack on the arm. "As much as I'd like to throw food at them as well …"

As both groups came together and headed towards the stadium themselves, Lil held onto Tommy's arm and said lowly in his ear, "I wonder where Susie is."

"I don't know. Did she say she was going to meet us or anything?"

Lil shook her head. "No, she just said make sure you get Chuckie to come to the game. She was very explicit about it, but she didn't say anything else. It was all really mysterious. You know, I have a funny feeling it has something to do with Angelica ... "

Tommy snickered. "So after five days of pretending Chuckie doesn't exist, Angelica wants to talk it out with him in the middle of a football game? That's romantic."

"Would you stop giving Angelica such a hard time? I think Savannah's the one who's most in the wrong here."

And of course, Savannah Shane would have to walk by them at that moment, alongside Monet Mulford. Tommy and Lil glowered at her.

"Where's the guy selling the food?" said Tommy, lifting his head high to search. Lil laughed.

Many people were staring at Dil, trying to figure what he was supposed to be … and why he'd be wearing what looked like an insect costume to a football game in the first place. Dil was not disconcerted in the slightest. In fact, he was basking in the attention – as was usual when people took notice to his offbeat behaviour.

"Ah ha!" said Dil loudly, spotting the Leopards mascot standing close to where the cheerleaders were warming up. "So it has begun … " he said wickedly.

"Ah, Dil?" said Phil, amused by Dil's tone of voice. "What are you gonna do?"

"I'm going to prove I'm the better mascot for the team! If it comes to a showdown, so be it."

With this declared, Dil ran on ahead.

"I hope the Leopards mascot brought his dueling pistol with him," said Kimi, grinning. Phil was grinning as well.

"God bless Dil. There's nothing better then a good ol' fashioned mascot rumble!"

* * *

While there was a lot activity on the surface of things, beneath the stadium was much quieter. Particularly in the girl's locker room where Angelica Pickles and Susie Carmichael were sitting together. Waiting …

"I can't believe you've talked me into this," said Angelica croakily, though managing to smile.

"Yes you can," said Susie simply. "You know it has to come to this. It's the only way you'll get Chuckie to forgive you. _You_ publicly humiliated him, after you and he told everyone you guys were an item. Your friends, your family – "

"Yeah I know, I was there!" Angelica sneered. "You want to stick the final nail in the coffin? I feel like a prisoner who's bitterly accepted her death sentence." Angelica looked out mournfully towards the exit, where she could hear the ever-increasing crowd of people above. "A criminal. On the verge of walking out to the gallows … "

"If you go through with this, he'll forgive you. I'm convinced," said Susie, completely confident.

"He better," said Angelica, not quite sure if this brilliant plan of Susie's was going to work. She was certain of one thing though: once she was through with tonight, Savannah Shane would have _nothing_ on her. That was a comforting thought! "Can I have some more beer?"

"All right," said Susie, passing Angelica the bottle. "But take it easy, you don't want to get too drunk. It's just for easing the nerves."

"Yeah yeah," said Angelica casually, gulping some down. "Where did you swipe this anyway?"

"From my sister."

Angelica chuckled. "Perfect Susie Carmichael, stealing beer from her older sister. Who would've thought!"

"It's charity beer, Pickles," Susie laughed. "And just because I choose not to drink, it doesn't make me perfect! On another topic, I'd just like to say – _before_ you head out to the gallows – I can't believe your first time was with the French foreign exchange student Étienne Lavau!"

"Quit drooling, Carmichael," Angelica chuckled at Susie. "Not everybody is saving themselves for Will Smith."

After a moment of reflection, Angelica added: "I don't regret it. Even though I look back and realise I wasn't ready. It wasn't exactly the smartest thing I ever did! Especially when … well, you know the aftermath. But it was _Étienne Lavau_! He was so French and SO freakin' hot it didn't seem legal."

"Did you ever tell him?"

Angelica took one last sip of beer, and said, "No. No he returned to France pretty much straight after. It's not like he was my boyfriend anymore, so … whatever. He didn't need to know."

"Perhaps Savannah will send him an email after your big performance?"

They both laughed.

"Yeah!" said Angelica. "Yeah, perhaps she will. One thing she's good for is sending emails."

* * *

Back up in the stadium, Chuckie and the rest had taken their seats. They'd managed to sit right in front, directly before the cheerleaders and the mascot(s).

"Goooooo LEOPARDS!" cried the cheerleaders, waving their pom poms.

"_Please_ let me have just one shot!" Phil begged painfully to Kimi. He was now well equipped with various different types of snack foods.

"Teachers our sitting near by, you want to get detention?" said Kimi reasonably.

But soon somebody _else_ had taken Phil's interest. He felt her eyes boring into the back of his neck, so he turned around to see. Sitting four rows behind was a girl with long blonde hair. She'd been staring at him – scrutinizing him, like he was something she couldn't quite piece together. When she saw him see her, her eyes quickly darted away.

"She can't … Monet remembers me? _Ouch_!"

It wasn't Kimi who'd hit Phil – it was Chuckie.

"Don't even think about it," warned Chuckie in a cold, quiet voice.

"Like I seriously was!" said Phil, trying to ease the tension. "She was the one looking at me anyway."

"Who was looking at you?" Kimi asked Phil, curious.

"Nothing … nobody! It's nothing."

_She was staring at him again_. Phil could feel it. Unable to resist, he pretended to stretch his neck … when he saw Monet, she again diverted her eyes.

"She _does_ remember me," he barely whispered aloud.

Kimi caught him this time. She saw the connection between Phil and Monet, and – though not _quite_ understanding what was going on, felt suddenly threatened.

"_Phillip_!" she hissed in his ear.

"Huh, what?" said Phil, turning back rapidly.

"Why are you and Monet Mulford staring at eachother?"

Phil panicked.

"I told you, it's nothing! She just kissed me this one time, that's all … "

"_What_!"

"I … oh boy," gulped Phil. "That probably wasn't the best thing to say."

Clearly upset, Kimi stood from her seat and started making her way to the aisle. Chuckie in the mean time had grabbed Phil by the collar.

"How could say that? Don't you have a filtering system!" Chuckie spat, enraged.

"I'll fix, I'll fix!" said Phil, waving his arms. "I swear dude, just let me go!"

"_Chuckie_!" cried Kira, seated further down. "Chuckie, what are you doing?"

Reluctantly, Chuckie unhanded Phil. "You _better_ fix it!"

Phil hurried after Kimi. Everybody was wondering what was going on.

"What just happened?" said Tommy to Chuckie. Tommy was now sitting next to Kimi's vacant seat.

"Oh, nothing of interest!" said Chuckie derisively, folding his arms. "Phil was just telling my little sister all about the time he kissed Monet Mulford."

"Phillip did _what_!" said Lil in shock, leaning past Tommy.

"KIMI!" Phil called out, running up the aisle. He crossed in front of her at the top of the stairs, blocking her from going any further.

"Kimi, wait!"

"You're an insensitive worm, you know that?" she said nastily, giving him a shove.

"I know," Phil conceded. "I'm sorry."

"I can't believe you'd make something like that up!"

"What? I wasn't making it up, Monet Mulford did kiss me!"

"Oh be real, Phil! Nobody like Monet Mulford would kiss you."

"Yes they would! If they were insanely drunk!"

Phil was forced to explain what happened between himself and Monet, after Brad Pittman's party.

"Ask Chuckie or Angelica, they were there. I'm not making it up! But it doesn't matter."

"Doesn't matter?" said Kimi, feeling more threatened then ever. "The most beautiful girl in school pashed my boyfriend and it doesn't matter? Of course it does!"

Kimi tried maneuvering past Phil, but Phil wouldn't have it.

"_You're_ beautiful," Phil asserted. "Sure Monet has her perks as well, but she's got nothing on you. She's like a fantasy girl! Plus did I mention _insanely_ drunk? Like she couldn't see straight? I know there's no way a girl like her would look twice at somebody like me if she wasn't seriously intoxicated."

"I don't know," smiled Kimi, back on Phil's good side again – the "you're beautiful" comment sealed the deal. "You scrub up pretty well."

"I do?" said Phil, smiling back. "You should see me with green face paint."

With this settled, a far more positive Kimi and Phil returned to their seats. As Phil sat back down next to Chuckie, he winked at him and said, "See? Told you I'd fix it."

Chuckie saw Kimi's hand interlace with Phil's, and calmed down. Slightly. "All right. But I've got my eye on you!"

"Drew! Charlotte! What a surprise."

This was indeed a surprise: Angelica's parents Drew and Charlotte Pickles had turned up. They sat in the row behind, directly behind Stu and Didi.

"What brings you two here?" Stu asked his brother.

"We had some time. You know I enjoy a good football game!"

"Some time, huh?"

Stu looked over at Charlotte critically, seated next to Drew. She was speaking loudly into her mobile. "Jonathan, no _Jonathan_! We gotta sell that baby, get the contract signed before the end of the week. Sell sell sell! If they give you attitude you kick their corporate balls, you ass!"

"You haven't seen Angelica, have you?" Drew asked Stu and Didi, ignoring his wife. "I've been trying to call her mobile but she won't answer. She said she might come tonight … "

"No Drew, we haven't seen her," said Didi.

Charlotte hung up her phone, mumbling "stupid ass", before saying hello to everyone. "Have they seen Angelica?"

"No darling, they haven't seen her," said Drew. Charlotte snickered.

"She's probably seen both of us already and run a mile!" she joked heartily. Her mobile rang again. "Damn! I gotta take this … "

Angelica probably would have run a mile if she'd seen her parents, but as it happened she was completely oblivious to their presence. She was still underground in the girl's locker room, waiting for her cue. Susie had gone outside quickly, to make sure Chuckie was in the audience. She'd missed spotting Angelica's parents, but she'd seen Chuckie.

"Okay," said Susie, rubbing her hands together. "You ready, Pickles? We better start making our way out."

Considering what she was about to do, Angelica was amazingly calm. Not completely, but more so then she or Susie had anticipated. In fact Angelica felt kind of numb, like none of this was about to happen … like it was too crazy to be real. Was she really going through with this?

She looked down at the gold bracelet dangling on her wrist, and she smiled. Remembering how Chuckie had almost committed suicide to get it back for her …

_It's worth it_ she thought, and breathed deeply.

Suddenly from outside, a voice blared over the stadium's loudspeaker.

"Please rise for the national anthem … sung for you tonight by Susanna Carmichael!"

That was Angelica's cue. She braced herself.

Everyone stood up. Phil stood while sucking on the straw of his diet coke. Dil, who'd been having a strategic argument with the mascot, paused for the time being.

"What the …" said Tommy, who was first to comment.

The girl walking out into the middle of the stadium, where a microphone had been set up, was NOT Susie Carmichael!

"It's …

" … it's _Angelica_!" exclaimed Chuckie, saying her name out loud for the first time in days.

All over the stadium, people who recognised Angelica were asking the same question: what the hell was she doing?

"Charlotte! _Charlotte_! Get off the phone, our daughter's out there!"

"What?" snapped Charlotte to her husband, looking out to where he was pointing. Her mouth gaped open. "Jonathan … Jonathan I have to go. My daughter's in the middle of a football field and nobody knows why!"

_This is it_ Angelica thought, upon reaching the microphone.

"She's not going to sing … is she?" said Kimi ominously.

"She can't sing a note to save her life!" said Tommy.

"HIT THE DECK!" cried Dil from below, figuring like the others that Angelica was about to sing. He jumped and landed flat on the floor behind the bleachers, covering his head.

And then Angelica began ...

"OH, SAY CAN YOU SEE!"

A collective groan of discomfort emanated from the crowd.

"It's like nails on a chalkboard!" moaned Lil. Phil agreed.

"I think my ears just popped!"

But while most groaned and complained, wishing very much that it was Susie Carmichael out there and not Angelica, Chuckie simply watched in quiet awe. She was really letting it rip!

"AND THE ROCKETS RED GLARE!"

Part of him, like everyone else, wondered what could've possibly possessed Angelica to be doing this. Did she wake up this morning and think, "Hey! I feel like singing the national anthem today." Yet somehow Chuckie sensed this was part of a grander scheme of things …

"O'ER THE LAND OF THE FREE – "

… either that or she'd gone completely koo-koo.

" – AND THE HOME OF THE BRAAAAAAVE!"

_Fin_. Nobody spoke or moved for a number of seconds.

"BRAVO!" yelled Susie, clapping with a big smile on her face. "Bravo!"

Slowly, more and more people started to clap along with Susie ... uncertain at first, but then clapping wholeheartedly.

"Thank you!" said Angelica into the microphone, doing a little curtsey. "Thank you. But there's something else I have to say."

The clapping died down. What now? Angelica took a deep breath.

"I'm in love with Chuckie Finster."

Everybody gasped in severe shock. Chuckie literally stopped breathing! He felt all heads turn towards him.

"I want to apologise for the way I've treated him," Angelica continued. "I hope he'll be able to forgive me this one last time. Also ... "

Angelica took a moment to clear her throat, before proceeding.

"So y'all don't hear it from somebody else, two years ago I had a miscarriage!"

More gasping resulted after this – much worse then before! Phil spat diet coke all over the cheerleading team. Angelica's dad stood straight out of his chair like a thunderbolt, and screamed: "ANGELICA C. PICKLES!"

"D – _dad_?" Angelica whimpered in severe disbelief, squinting towards the stadium. "Mom?"

Meanwhile ...

"Go!" Kimi said to her brother, snapping him back to life.

"Wha … ?" said Chuckie, sounding lost. He was still suffering some notable aftershock. "Go where?"

"Out there, dumbass!" said Kimi, laughing. "Angelica just embarrassed herself stupid to tell you she loves you! Doesn't that warrant for a kiss?"

Kimi was right. Chuckie leapt from his seat and starting making his way there. His friends gave him words of encouragement along the way.

"Go get her buddy!"

"Good luck!"

Avoiding the likes of Drew and Charlotte, who were having a heated debate about their irresponsible daughter and whose bigger fault it was, Chuckie hurried up the aisle and then over the stairs that led down to the ground floor. Once on the ground, he ran past the cheerleaders, the Leopards mascot, Susie and Dil. Susie and Dil called out after him as he ran onto the field.

"Good luck, Chuckie!"

"Kiss her brains out!"

Angelica's heart did a somersault as she saw a tall, lanky redhead running her way. When he reached her, she jumped for him and threw her arms around his neck. Widespread cheering and whistling erupted from the stadium at full force.

"You had a _miscarriage_!" Chuckie blurted out, needing to clear the air on this one before the kissing could commence. He was breathing very fast.

"I never told anyone that before!" said Angelica, also breathing very fast. "Only Savannah. She said she'd tell the whole school if we continued seeing eachother."

Chuckie nodded, understanding. "I guess that won't work for her now, huh?"

All of Angelica's friends were happy for her. Christy was clapping and cheering. Even Monet was clapping and cheering. Savannah's hands seemed tied, however. She just sat there watching the proceedings with the same manner of one who watches an elephant taking piss.

"You didn't have to do this you know," said Chuckie, holding Angelica tighter. "This was seriously the craziest thing anyone has ever done for me!"

"You've done some pretty crazy things for me too," said Angelica. "So are we even?"

Chuckie smiled.

"Yeah," he said, leaning in to kiss her. "We're even."

* * *

**THE END**

**Thank you so much to everybody who has read and/or reviewed this story, you've all been so positive and encouraging. I honestly didn't know where I was going with this story half the time! I didn't have a plan when I first started. I guess I felt, for Chuckie and Angelica to come together realistically, it would have be difficult and that they would need to face many obstacles. Ducks, Barry Manilow, a miscarriage ... the usual stuff.**

**Angelica _did_ have an actual miscarriage – just want to make that clear. I would've gone into more details about what happened, but it didn't fit in with the story. Obviously it was a very difficult time for her. I realise Angelica having a miscarriage at fifteen is controversial, but these things do happen to teenagers. I apologise if it offends anyone, but I personally don't judge Angelica (or anyone else in a similar situation) too harshly. **

**Who won the football game? Who cares.**

**Thanks again :)**


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